Almost Easy
by black angel 2011
Summary: After suffering a devestating defeat against Tobias, Ash is left with little choice but to do some soul searching. Two years after the defeat Ash discovers that Dawn has stayed at his place waiting for him to return. with the chance to have his rematch Ash and Dawn must travel to Unova together to face the new challenges awaiting them. AshXDawn
1. The return of Ash Ketchum

**Almost Easy.**

**Chapter 1: the return of Ash Ketchum.**

**Ash: 15 (17 after time skip)**

**Dawn: 14 (16 after time skip)**

_An Idea from a ChiefAlpha, that was requested so I thought I was a nice idea to get this started._

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Ash walked over to his electric mouse pokemon with the crowd cheering, a man with long greyish blue hair, wearing blue pants and a maroon jacket with a grey jumper under the jacket walked up to the trainer, he recalled his pokemon and smiled at the trainer, "not bad Ash, you're the first to knock out two of my pokemon," he said with a proud look on his face, he extended his hand out to the trainer and shook his hand, "if you ever want a rematch just ask," he said happily before the two trainers turned around to leave the battlefield for the next trainers to battle it out to face the winner of the previous battle.

Ash walked down the hallway as the loneliness of defeat set in for him, "I trained so hard but I still could only beat two of his pokemon," Ash told himself as he looked at his injured electric pokemon.

Brock and Dawn walked up to the trainer with a proud smile on their faces, Ash looked up with a dissatisfied look on his face, "no need to worry Ash, you face legendary pokemon you did so well, I am proud of you Ash," Dawn said with a smile but Ash didn't listen to her words, Ash walked pass the bluenette and into the dark corridor with his electric pokemon.

The girl with the pink mini skirt and knee high boots, white blouse and beanie and a black vest, turned around to see Ash walking away in shame, 'Ash, please don't walk away,' Dawn thought to herself as she tried to follow Ash on her own, "Brock, I am going to follow Ash," Dawn told the young man with spiky brown hair, wearing an orange and brown vest with a green shirt underneath it and a white pair of pants and blue sneakers.

'Ash, I know you put your all into that battle, but you have no reason to ignore us,' Brock thought as the cheers drowned into the hallway as the battle outside went into full swing. Brock walked to the exit and watched the battle on his own.

Meanwhile outside the stadium Dawn ran around the stadium with her water penguin helping in the search, suddenly a loud roar was heard, she looked up to see a large orange pokemon with large wings and large tail with fire emanating at the end, "that's a Charizard," Dawn told herself as the pokemon flew off into the distance.

She walked into the Pokemon Center and made it to the main counter, "excuse me Nurse have you seen Ash Ketchum?" Dawn asked the pink haired nurse nervously.

The nurse nodded and gave Dawn a note, "he told me to give you this note," Nurse joy said with a smile as the young coordinator took the note.

She unfolded the letter and started to read it, "Dear Dawn, I appreciate the journey I had with you and every laugh I had with you, but the most important words I have been meaning to tell you over the last few months just can't be said just yet, the loss of the battle against Tobias was because I was unprepared to face the toughest foes," Dawn read as she started to cry, she read further into the letter to find that Ash was going somewhere to train on his own with his pokemon, "I don't want to be found yet," she finished as she folded the letter up and closed her eyes, "Ash don't hide from me," Dawn said as she placed the letter in her backpack, 'I better keep this quiet from Brock,' Dawn thought to herself before exiting the medical facility.

As she left the Pokemon Center she walked into Tobias, "you're his friend right, please tell Ash, I had a great time battling him and I will be in the Unova region in a couple of years' time," Tobias told the bluenette.

"Sorry I cannot that, Ash is missing and all I have left from him is this letter," Dawn said as she pulled out the letter she was given, "he took the loss from you very harshly," Dawn explained to Tobias as she put the letter back into her back.

"I see, never expected this to occur, I will wait for him," Tobias told Dawn as he handed her a number for Ash to ring, "when you see Ash again tell him to ring that number, I will be waiting," he said before walking into the building with a red roof.

'I have wanted to go to Kanto with him,' Dawn thought to herself as she looked at the stadium, she turned her gaze to the sky and started to think about her journey with Ash, "you know Piplup, I never thought being in love with someone felt this amazing," Dawn said as she knelt down to her small blue and white penguin, "know Ash will return to me one day," Dawn said as she pet the small pokemon on the head, "I hope one day he won't hide his feelings from me," Dawn told the pokemon.

Dawn stood up and listened to the cheers of the crowd from the stadium, she looked up to the sky again and smiled brightly, "Ash, I will be waiting for you! I will become stronger!" Dawn declared with great confidence, "even if I have to stay at his place," Dawn said calmly before turning around and walked away from the pokemon battle arena.

_(Two Years later)_

Dawn was walking back from the Pokemon Lab owned by Ash's friend with a parcel in her arms, she had her pokemon follow her, "being with Ash's mom, I have realized many things, one was just how lucky Ash is to have someone like her," Dawn chimed positively as she waltzed through the small town. She continued to walk through the wide streets of the small town, she looked over her shoulder thinking she saw Ash again, "nah it can't be Ash hasn't been seen in just over two years," Dawn said with a frown as she walked through the town.

Dawn finally made it to the Ketchum residence with the parcel, "Delia, I have the parcel for you," Dawn called out to the older woman happily.

A woman with shoulder length brown hair, wearing a pink cardigan, a white blouse and a lilac skirt walked up to the door to greet the coordinator, "Dawn, thanks for helping me out, since we haven't seen Ash in a while I have no one to help me out," Delia said with a frown.

"No need to worry, Miss Ketchum, I miss him too," Dawn professed with a smile as she walked up the steps of the house, she walked up to the closed room and opened the door, she walked into the room and looked around, 'Ash, when will you come back?' Dawn asked in thought as she looked at the photo of Ash and Dawn traveling with Brock.

She pulled out the note from her pocket and looked at the number behind the letter, 'tell Ash I will be waiting for a rematch,' Dawn remembered the line of Tobias before leaving the Sinnoh league on her own without letting brock know, "I told Brock a few days later, but Ash not hearing a word from you is the hardest thing ever, I am worried that something has happened to you," Dawn said as she heard Delia walking up the steps.

"Dawn, you're in Ash's room again?" Delia enquired as she walked into the room, she walked around to see the many things her son collected over the years, "so many badges, so many trophies, I am proud of him no matter what happens," Delia said with a bright smile.

"I know what you mean Delia, but we both haven't seen Ash in two years," Dawn said as she jumped onto the bed and rested her head on the pillow, she looked up to see the glow in the dark star stickers on the ceiling, 'I miss the nights we spent looking at the stars together," Dawn thought as she closed her eyes to remember her journey.

"Dawn, have you ever thought of ever looking for Ash?" Delia as the bluenette quietly.

Dawn nodded before opening her eyes, "yes Delia, plenty of times, but I kept reminding myself that Ash will return for me," Dawn told Delia with a smile, she sat up and looked out the window to see the dominating hill over the horizon, "every time I look at that hill I think I see Ash, but no one is ever there to prove it, whenever I think I see him and ask someone about it they say they saw nothing," Dawn explained with a frown as she spun around and put her feet back on the ground.

"So you're waiting for him to return?" Delia asked as she walked out of the room she took one more look at the lonely bluenette, "so when he returns are you going to tell him how feel about him?" Delia asked Dawn with a bright smile.

Dawn looked up to Ash's mother with a flustered look on her face, she turned around and looked out the window, "what makes you think I love your son?" Dawn asked the older lady as she burst out into laughter.

"You're waiting for him aren't you? You look out that window, like you have done over the last couple of years waiting for him to return," Delia explained with a smile as she walked down the steps.

Dawn looked at the floor and started to think, 'she is right, even after two years, I can't hide anything from her,' Dawn thought as she started laughing, Piplup looked up to his trainer and started to get concerned, he jumped up to the window to see Ash standing up on the hill, he jumped around excitedly causing Dawn to look up, "no Piplup, Ash would never return just yet," Dawn said as she restrained the pokemon, she looked up again to see the figure getting closer, "Ash," Dawn whispered as she ran out of the room and rushed down the steps.

She pushed open the door and rushed though the town, she ran towards the hill to see if what she saw was for real. Dawn ran nonstop until with her head pointed to the ground, she continued until she stopped, she looked up to see Ash standing in front of her with Pikachu and him looking around, "I missed you," Dawn confessed as she embraced the trainer.

"Dawn, what are you doing in Pallet Town?" Ash asked as he returned the embrace, Dawn pulled back and looked at the trainer with clothes that were completely wrecked and scratches all over his face, she noticed cuts running down most of his arms, "sorry for taking so long," Ash said with a nervous smile.

Dawn moved away from the trainer with an angered expression on her face, "do you realize how long you have been away from your mother and me?" Dawn asked the trainer angrily as she placed her hands on her hips, "two long years Ash," Dawn replied before the trainer could.

Ash looked to the ground in guilt as his hat fell off his head and fell into pieces, "I am sorry, I promise that it will never happen again," Ash promised with a tired smile, he picked up his head before collapsing onto the ground, "I missed you Dawn," Ash said tiredly as Pikachu fell next to him

Dawn smiled at the trainer and pulled out her pokeball, "Mamoswine, spotlight," Dawn called out for a large brown pokemon with long white tusks, "please help me take Ash back to his place," Dawn requested of her pokemon, the large pokemon gently placed his tusks under the trainer and walked next to the coordinator with the tired Ash in the tusks, 'I am glad you've returned Ash,' Dawn thought as she walked through the town with her ground type pokemon as she held on to Pikachu, "Buneary will be happy," Dawn said as she looked down to the small yellow pokemon.

Delia looked out the window to see Dawn holding onto a small yellow pokemon, she noticed that she had Mamoswine following her with a male with spiky black hair and wearing tattered clothes, she dropped her plate causing it to shatter on the ground, "my Ashy is back home," Delia cried out as she ran to the front door of the house.

Mamoswine placed the trainer on the ground and was recalled by Dawn, "Delia, look who has returned to us," Dawn said as she pointed to a tired trainer, she looked around his belt only to discover six pokeballs, "let's see which pokemon he has," Dawn said as she threw one of them, a bright light appeared from the device until it vanished with a medium sized pokemon with blue and black coloration and a cream colored front, "Lucario, so he has some new pokemon," Dawn said with a smile, "please he Ash to his room," Dawn requested of the pokemon in a hopeful manner.

The fox like pokemon nodded and picked up the trainer and carried it to the front of the house, Delia looked down to see the scratches on the trainers face and cuts running down both his arms, "Dawn, can you go to the shops and get some disinfected as well as some bandages?" Delia requested with a smile as she allowed the aura pokemon to step inside with her son, "also can you get him some new clothes?" Delia asked the bluenette.

Dawn nodded happily as she ran off to follow through with the request; she ran though the town to find the shops she needed to buy the required items, "I can't believe it Ash is back," Dawn said with great excitement.

She continued to run through the streets happily, she made it to the shops and decided to look around for the clothes first since it was going to take her the most time, Dawn found an outfit to replace the one that was destroyed, "hmmmmmm that's a nice shirt and jeans," Dawn said as she picked up a blue and white shirt with blue jeans, she looked around again to find some new shoes for the trainer. He looked around until she found a pair of red shoes for Ash, "well I guess that will be all," Dawn said as she clicked her fingers, "almost forgot, Ash is always with a hat," Dawn told herself as she grabbed a red hat with white at the front with a blue pokeball design on the front.

Dawn walked to the front counter with the new clothes, "that will cost seventy pokedollars," the attendant explained after scanning the new clothes, "but for my favorite customer I will give ten percent off," the attendant said with a sly smile.

'He's hitting on me,' Dawn thought as she paid the items off, "sorry but Ash, has come back I was waiting for him," Dawn said with a nervous smile much to the disappointment, Dawn walked out of the shop with the items in her bag, she looked at the list and thought about what she needed to get next, "I need to get disinfectant and bandages," Dawn reminded herself as she walked further into town.

Meanwhile at Ash's home, the trainer was resting on the bed while his partner pokemon sleeping at the other end, "oh I forgot to tell Dawn to get some medicine for Pikachu," Delia said with a frown. Delia walked over to the phone and pressed in the numbers, after pressing in the numbers she waited for her friend to pick up the phone, an elderly man appeared on the other end of the call, "Professor Oak can you please bring over a Full Restore?" Delia asked the professor with a warm smile.

"Alright I will send Tracy over to your place, I am a little busy at the moment," Oak said with a smile as he pulled out a small green bottle and handed it to his assistant.

"Thank you professor," Delia said thankfully as she ended the call. She walked back upstairs to see Ash still resting on the bed, "at least my son is home," Delia told herself as she pulled the blankets, suddenly a knock was heard on the door, Delia quickly ran out of the room and hurriedly down the steps to see who was at the door, she opened the door to see who was there, she saw that there was a young man with green shorts, an orange shirt with a white lab coat, "Tracy, that was quick," Delia said with shock as she spotted the Full Restore in the pokemon watchers hand.

"I have a delivery for you, what did you need the Full Restore for?" Tracy asked with a smile, Delia pointed to the steps with a grin, "can it be that Ash is back?" Tracy asked as he ran up the steps to see if it was true.

"He is hurt at the moment, but I have sent Dawn to get us the things he needs to help him get better, the Full Restore is for Pikachu," Delia pointed over to an injured mouse pokemon.

The duo walked over to hurt Pikachu and started to spray the Full Restore on the hurt pokemon, it writhed in pain as the spray started to sting the pokemon, Delia stepped back as sparks of electricity emanated from his cheeks, "wow, it must have been a long time since he was given a Full Restore," Tracy said with a frown as he finished spraying the Full Restore on the electric mouse.

Dawn ran back to the house with the requested items and a Full Restore in her arms, "I know Delia forgot to ask me to get one, but I know Pikachu really needs help as well," Dawn told herself as she walked up to the front door of the house, she used the spare key to open the door, "Delia, I have returned with the items you requested!" Dawn yelled out as she walked up the steps, she spotted Pikachu walking back to the room with a cloth in his hands, "am I seeing things?" Dawn asked as she followed the electric mouse back to the room.

"It's okay Dawn, I forgot to tell you to get a Full Restore, so I asked Tracy to bring one here for us," Delia said calmly as she spotted the green bottle in Dawns arms, "I see you got a Full Restore," Delia said as she led Dawn back to the trainer's room.

"I knew we needed one for Pikachu and you forgot to request one so I got one anyway," Dawn admitted happily as she pulled out the disinfectant from the shopping bag.

After a few hours of trying to heal Ash, Dawn and Delia walked out of the room and closed the door, "hey Dawn how about staying for dinner again, I am sure when Ash wakes up, he would be happy to see you again," Delia said sweetly while leading the bluenette down the steps with Pikachu following close behind, Delia started to prepare the meal for Ash, Dawn and herself, "you know it's kind of strange to see my son again, he was gone for two years never saying a word to me," Delia said as she stirred the saucepan for the soup, "what do you intend to do Dawn?" Delia asked the coordinator with a warm smile.

"Me, I intend to lecture him, then if he wants to have that rematch a friend of ours is waiting for, he will have to battle me for it," Dawn replied to Delia's question with a confident smile, Delia giggled after hearing the young girls reply, "then I am going to make him promise never to disappear again," Dawn said as she raised her fist into the air.

Delia looked over at the confident bluenette she chuckled and turned to look out the window, "my son is lucky to have someone like you Dawn, please take care of him," the brunette requested as she continued to prepare the meal for the extra person.

Up in the room Ash was starting to wake up from his slumber, he opened his eyes and sat up, he looked around to see a new set of clothes at one end of the bed, he looked at his arms and chest to see it covered in bandages, "wow, I must have been in pretty bad shape," Ash whispered to himself as he climbed out of the bed. He walked up to the clothes and looked at them for a moment, 'only Dawn would think of getting this stuff, she is into fashion,' Ash thought as he gingerly put the new clothes on, he looked at the hat, 'I will save that for later,' Ash thought as he walked up to the door quietly.

He opened the door and quietly walked down the steps to see how his mother was going, Ash made it to the bottom of the stairs to hear two women talking, "thanks for dinner," a familiar female voice said thankfully.

Ash quietly walked up to the doorway of the dining area to find that Dawn was sitting at the table with his mother, "hello mom and Dawn," Ash said quietly as he walked up to a seat and pulled it out, the trainer slowly sat down and took a bowl of food, "thanks mom for the food," Ash said quietly as he started to eat the food slowly.

Dawn watched as the trainer ate the food, she pulled out the note from Tobias and slide it over to Ash, she left her hand on the note, "I will let you have that note on four conditions," Dawn declared as she moved the note away from Ash and placed it back in her pocket, "you see Ash, I have been here for the last two years making sure your mother had some company while you disappeared," Dawn said as she glared at the trainer.

Ash looked at the bowl of food in guilt, "what were you doing for two years Ash?" Dawn asked as the trainer put the bowl back onto the table, "you contacted no one, not even a letter," Dawn explained as Delia watched Dawn berate her son.

"After my defeat, I needed to do some serious training and soul searching Dawn," Ash professed quietly as his Pikachu looked up at him, "on the way to Mt Silver I caught a Riolu and trained it to a Lucario," Ash said while looking at the pokeball in his possession, "you were wrong Dawn about me not contacting anyone, I contacted Professor Oak to change my pokemon around, but I made him promise not to tell anyone what I was doing," Ash told the women in the area while Pikachu looked away in shame, "I told him I was planning on returning once I felt my training wasn't going to help me reach a new level," Ash told everyone in the room.

Dawn looked at the note and smiled, "Ash, I just wanted you to return, but my wish just came true, but that wasn't the conditions I had in mind," Dawn explained as she showed Ash the note again. "Condition one, apologize to everyone that was effected by your disappearing act," Dawn instructed Ash as she placed the not on the table, "number two, I want you to promise me and your mother you would never disappear again," Dawn told Ash as the trainer looked at the bluenette smirking at him.

"What are the other two?" Ash asked the more than confident coordinator.

"Condition three, I want you to tell me your feelings more often," Dawn stated with a smile as she took the note off the table yet again, "last condition is, I want you to battle me, prove to me how much strong you have gotten over the last two years, if you win that battle I will give you this note, but lose the battle, you don't want to know," Dawn told Ash as she placed the note back in her pocket.

"Dawn, I don't think it would be a good idea to place a condition like that," Ash said wit concern.

Dawn glared at the trainer for a moment, "why Ash? Are you scared you might lose the battle?" Dawn said confidently as she smirked at the trainer, "you aren't the only one to have trained their pokemon over the last two years Ash," Dawn expressed her confidence to Ash.

Ash looked over to the confident bluenette and nodded, "alright I accept your challenge, does a one on one battle sound good to you?" Ash asked as he picked up his plate and finished his meal

Dawn watched Ash finish his meal and looked at Ash's mother soon afterwards, "I accept the rule of the battle, it won't be easy Ash for you to win," Dawn said as she walked away from the table, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at the trainer eating his food, 'welcome back Ash,' Dawn thought with a bubbly smile before walking up the steps alone.

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**the not so fated between Ash and Dawn is set to occur, which new pokemon does Ash have? How much have Ash and Dawn improved? Who will win the battle? **

**Next time: Chapter 2 Throwing down the Gauntlet.**

**Please tell me what you think of the story and thanks to ChiefAlpha for the suggestion**


	2. Throwing down the Gauntlet

**Chapter 2: Throwing down the Gauntlet**

_I will reveal the newest member to Ash's team and the battle between Ash and Dawn in this chapter please enjoy._

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Ash sat in his bed thinking about how much he missed being home, not having any amount of sleep, he sat back at the end of his bed and started to wonder what that note was all about and why Dawn was so angry at him, "okay I went missing for two years," Ash reminded himself as he looked towards the window, he jumped out of his bed and walked up to the window, he took a look out to see the hill, "maybe Dawn looked out to see if I was on the hill, waiting for me to come home," Ash told himself before getting dressed again, he grabbed his hat and silently walked out of his room.

Ash walked out of the house and down the street, 'don't Dawn, I am not leaving I just need a place to look at the stars to help me think,' Ash thought as he closed the door.

After walking down the street and towards the hill top, he spotted someone sitting there looking up, "you know Piplup, I am glad to see that Ash has returned to me," she said as the trainer walked up to her quietly, "but he is acting different, he was really quiet last night," Dawn said as Ash stopped moving to hear Dawn's words, he looked up and saw that Piplup was looking at him, Ash placed his finger on his lips to keep the pokemon quiet, "he doesn't know why I stayed to wait for him," Dawn told her small penguin pokemon as Ash stood there to listen to more of Dawn.

Ash started moving again this time he moved next to Dawn quietly, "it's alright Dawn, I returned and kept quiet because I was too guilty to say anything," Ash professed as he placed his arm around the bluenette.

"Ash, I stayed because I love you," Dawn told the trainer much to his surprise, "I wasn't crying when you left, I was more angry that you left, angry that you never told me what was on your mind and angry that you never called your mother or me," Dawn explained as she placed her head on the trainers shoulder, she looked into the trainers eyes and started to smile at him, "you need to tell me what's on your mind right now," Dawn instructed Ash as he looked up to the stars again.

Ash let out a quick smile as he turned his gaze to the coordinator, "I am lucky to have someone like you Dawn, I still can't believe you would forgive me so easily," Ash stated with guilt written over his face, "most people would have just turned their backs," Ash said as Dawn embraced the trainer with all her might.

"I forgave you because I knew you were hurting inside," Dawn explained while Ash placed his hands in the long blue hair of Dawn.

"Dawn, the do you still have that letter I wanted you to have?" Ash asked the bluenette as she nodded, "in my defeat I was too ashamed to tell you how I felt about you," Ash explained as he looked up to the stars again, Ash smiled as Dawn cupped the trainers face, she pulled back from the embrace and looked into his eyes, "Dawn, I…." but before he could finish his sentence Dawn pressed her lips on to his, she closed her eyes as the two continued kiss, 'what's going on?' Ash asked in thought.

Dawn pulled back and smiled at the trainer, "well what did you want to say Ash?" Dawn asked sweetly as she stood up and looked down at Ash who was still sitting there, "I can't wait for our battle tomorrow," Dawn told Ash before turning around to walk away from the trainer.

Ash looked over his shoulder and watched Dawn walking into the distance, "Dawn, wait there is something I need to tell you," Ash said but Dawn continued to walk away, Ash placed his fingers on his lips as the shock of what happened set in.

Dawn looked over her shoulder and smiled at the trainer, 'tell me after our battle,' Dawn thought as she left the hill, "come on Piplup we need to get some sleep," Dawn told her pokemon.

Ash looked back up to the night sky and closed his eyes, "fine I will tell you after out battle," Ash said as he felt his heart racing, he fell back onto the ground to gain a clearer view of the stars and the crescent moon, he placed his hands over his mouth again, "did I miss something?" Ash asked himself as he closed his eyes, "and what is Dawn hiding from me?" Ash asked as he pictured the note that was in Dawn's possession.

Ash stood up and started his journey back home, he thought about his last two years.

_One and a half years ago. (Flashback)_

"Professor, please keep it quiet from my mom, I don't want her to know where I am until I come back," Ash told the elderly professor coolly, "I am sending my pokemon to you except for my new Riolu and Gible," Ash explained as he placed one pokeball at a time on the teleportation device, Ash watched as the pokeballs all were beamed back to the lab.

"Ash, you need to know that Dawn is helping your mother out," the elderly professor out.

Ash looked away and thought about the bluenette, "please keep things quiet from her, I don't want her to go out looking for me," Ash instructed the professor before ending the conversation with the professor, ash walked out of the medical facility and looked up to the rising sun, "Dawn, please wait for me," Ash told himself as his partner pokemon watched him crack his first smile in months.

Ash walked into the cave and started to walk around with his partner pokemon, "you know while we are here, we need to capture some new pokemon," Ash told his pokemon as he looked around, "also we might have a look around in the other regions to look for other pokemon," Ash explained his plans of his training to the yellow electric mouse.

Ash walked further into the mountain with his two pokemon until he found a small brown pokemon with a cream colored collar, "look an Eevee," Ash pointed out as he grabbed his pokeball, "Riolu, I choose you," Ash called out a small blue dog-like pokemon with black legs, "start this battle with Brick Break," Ash commanded the emanation pokemon calmly.

The two pokemon charge at one another before colliding in the middle of the room, the small pokemon fell back after the attack before collapsing after the powerful attack took its toll on the evolution pokemon, "wow, this Riolu is powerful," Ash remarked calmly as he prepared his pokeball for the capture of the normal type pokemon, the pokeball hit the normal type on the head, the ball opened up and a red beam encircled the normal pokemon, the pokemon became trapped inside the red and white device.

Ash watched the pokeball wobble from side to side with the hopes of capturing the pokemon, after thrity seconds the ball stopped moving and signified the capture of the pokemon, "alright I caught an Eevee," Ash celebrated as he picked up the pokeball.

_Present time (end of Flashback)_

Ash walked home while looking at his pokeball, "it seems like you have your first test," Ash said with a confident smile before placing the pokeball back in his pocket, he walked down the street with the few lampposts lighting up the way.

Ash turned to the next street and looked over to see his house lit up, he spotted Dawn helping his mother preparing breakfast, Ash smiled as he walked closer, "I guess getting to sleep was harder for all of us," Ash said with a nervous smile, he opened the gate and walked through he grabbed his key and opened the door, he walked in with his partner pokemon and walked into the kitchen.

"So what do you intend to do Dawn?" Delia asked the bluenette as she started to clean the plates with the help of Dawn.

"I will reveal all after my battle with your son," the coordinator said as she put a plate down to wash another plate, "don't worry I will not leave his side ever," Dawn promised the trainers mother without realizing that Ash was standing in the doorway.

Ash watched the conversation as he smiled at the duo talking; Ash turned around and moved towards the stairway, he walked up quietly and with a warm feeling in his heart, "I will never disappear ever again," Ash whispered to himself as he made it to the top floor of the small house.

He made it to his room and walked towards his bed, he sat down on the mattress and looked towards the window to see the sun starting to rise over the horizon, "Pallet Town's sunrise is always better," Ash said with a proud smile, he heard the door open and someone walking in, "thanks for breakfast Dawn," Ash knowingly thanked the bluenette.

"How did you?" Dawn asked in shock as she took the plate to the trainer.

Ash started laughing but it produced a sharp pain causing him the grasp his left part of his chest, "you're just worried that I might leave again," Ash said with a frown while looking over to the bluenette, Dawn handed over the breakfast and sat next to the trainer.

She watched the trainer take massive bite after massive bite of his food, "I take it you haven't had a decent meal in two years Ash," Dawn said as she looked over to the bedroom window, "for two years Ash, I have been looking out that same window, waiting for you, hoping that you were safe," Dawn explained.

"To be honest during the two years I was away, all I was eating was berries," Ash explained after finishing another mouthful of food, every time I walked through Mt. Silver I felt alone," Ash stated as he looked over to his friend.

"But this felt too good to find you sitting next to me, I find that now battling you is the best way to find out if this is real," Dawn explained as she lifted her head up to look into the trainers brown eyes, "Ash, I'm glad you're back," Dawn said as she stood up and walked towards the window, she gazed out the window and started to smile, "I will see you at the battlefield," Dawn said as she heard the trainer leave the room to take his plate into the kitchen.

After making it to the kitchen Ash cleaned his plate, he looked over to his mother, she noticed that Ash was hesitating about the battle against Dawn, "son, what's the matter?" Delia asked her son as she walked up to him, "I am just as upset about you as Dawn is, we aren't certain if this is the real you, you have been far too quiet Ash," Delia explained as she started cleaning her sons plate, "I haven't seen you smile since you returned," Delia pointed out as she looked over to her son.

Ash looked up and smiled at his mother, "mom I am sorry for staying away for so long, I promise never to do it again," Ash said with a serious expression, he turned to the exit of the small house and opened the door, "mom, come to Professor Oak's I want to show you and Dawn how much I have improved," Ash said with a confident grin before walking out of the door again.

Delia watched her son walking up the street and towards the lab that dominated the scenery from the kitchen, "well at least he said sorry," Delia said as she noticed Dawn walking towards the door of the property, "time to see the battle I guess, I don't want Ash to lose but I also don't want Dawn to lose either," Delia told herself as she walked out of the house.

Dawn walked up the street with a nervous feeling in her stomach, "just how much has Ash improved? And what new pokemon does he have?" Dawn asked while dawdling up the street.

While Dawn was slowly walking up the street she spotted the shop attendant casually walking up to her, "hey Dawn, there is something I want to ask you," he told the young lady calmly, "would you go out with me?" he asked the bluenette quietly.

Dawn looked into his green eyes and shook her head, "no, I am sorry but there is someone else," Dawn told the attendant.

The attendant grew angry at the young lady and called out a powerful pokemon with four powerful arms, "how dare you turn me down! Machamp, attack her little Piplup with Brick Break!" he yelled at the coordinator and her pokemon.

"Espeon finish him with Psychic," Ash called out calmly, a small purple pokemon with a red gem attacked the fighting type with amazig psychic force knocking it out with one hit, Ash walked over to Dawn and stood between her and the trainer, "what kind of man doesn't accept no as an answer?" he asked the person in front of him, "I should recommend that you leave now or get beaten badly in a battle against me," Ash told the shop attendant.

The attendant glared at the trainer as he recalled his pokemon, "why should you care, you left her because you're a sore loser," the attendant said as he pulled out another pokeball, "go Gengar," he called out his next pokemon.

"I care enough because, Dawn waited for me, now Espeon attack Gengar with Shadow Ball," Ash instructed his pokemon with great confidence.

"Gengar, counter with Shadow Ball," he instructed his pokemon calmly, Espeon easily dodged the attack and fired of a Shadow Ball of its own, the attack made contact knocking out another of the attendant pokemon, "what? How is he so good? I haven't even landed a hit on his Espeon," he said in frustration.

Ash looked over to see if Dawn was alright, she walked over to the attendant and raised her arm, she opened her hand up and slapped the attendant across the face, "no means no, if you can't accept it then that's your problem," Dawn told the shop attendant as she walked over to Ash, "I am with Ash Ketchum," Dawn decreed as she grabbed the trainers arm.

"Now give it up, if you can't beat my Espeon then you have no chance against my other pokemon," Ash told him as he recalled his psychic pokemon.

The attendant stood there defiantly and prepared to call out his next pokemon, "I Marcus will win this battle, Venusaur time to battle," the trainer called out a large blue pokemon with a large pink flower on its back.

Ash shrugged his shoulder and sighed in disbelief, "I told you, you cannot win this battle," Ash said as he got ready to call out his next pokemon, "Garchomp, I choose you," Ash called out a large dark blue pokemon with a large dorsal fin.

Dawn looked on in amazement as the powerful pokemon let out a powerful roar, "when did Gible evolve?" Dawn asked in amazement as the trainer smirked at Marcus, "Ash, beat him senseless," Dawn instructed the trainer with a smile as she raised her fist into the air.

Ash nodded and refocused on the battle ahead of him, "you can make the first move Marcus, that's if you're not too scared to make a move," Ash goaded the opposing trainer.

"Venusaur attack with Solar Beam," Marcus instructed his grass type, "even if you have part Dragon there is still ground elements to your Garchomp," Marcus stated as his pokemon's flower started to glow as the energy started to build up.

Dawn watched as the trainer did nothing, she saw that Ash stood there calmly not instructing his pokemon to make a move, "Ash, don't be foolish, Solar Beam will deal immense damage to your pokemon!" Dawn yelled out in concern but the trainer ignored her, 'how powerful can he be?' Dawn thought as she looked over to the dragon standing there equally as calm as the trainer.

Venusaur unleashed a devastating beam of solar energy towards the dragon type, "Dragon Claw," Ash instructed calmly. the powerful dragon type sliced through the grass type move before slashing downwards on the grass starter pokemon.

Marcus watched as his pokemon fainted from the powerful attack, he stood there astonished at the power of the trainer he was facing against, "what? I don't believe this, how is he be so powerful?" Marcus asked as he recalled his pokemon, he looked over to his opponent's expression and started to take a few steps back, "you will pay for this," Marcus decreed before running away.

Dawn walked over to the trainer with a smile, "are you really Ash, there is no way he would have such powerful pokemon," Dawn said as she watched the trainer recall his pokemon, "oh and thanks for helping me out," Dawn thankfully told Ash as he looked into her eyes with a smile, "I guess if I battle you I would lose to," Dawn said as she looked down at the ground.

Ash placed his hand under Dawn's chin and looked into her eyes, "I want to know how much you've improved Dawn, you only saw three of my new pokemon," Ash told the bluenette as he walked off towards the pokemon lab.

Dawn stood there amazed at what she had heard, she observed the trainer of her affections walking towards the pokemon lab, "can I really win this battle?" Dawn wondered as she slowly started to walk to the lab for her battle, she gulped while replaying the battle she witnessed in her mind, 'I can't call that much of a battle, Ash decimated him,' Dawn thought as she continued to walk up the streets of Pallet Town.

At the lab Ash was bowing his head to the professor, "Professor Oak I am sorry for my actions," Ash apologetically said while waiting for Dawn to arrive for the battle.

"Ash, I was very disappointed in you, but I am glad you're safe," the professor told Ash with a smile as he showed Ash a new map, "Ash this is the Unova Region, you haven't visited this new region yet, so how about taking your training to the next level there," Oak told Ash as another guest walked into the room, "ah Dawn, can I ask you to do something for me?" the professor asked the coordinator.

Dawn nodded with a bubbly smile, "look after Ash, make sure he doesn't do anything to make us worry," Dawn said as the professor chuckled at the bluenettes reply.

"That's right Dawn," Oak retorted with a smile.

Ash looked at the duo as they burst out into laughter, "great so you both don't expect me to keep my word," Ash said as he walked out of the room and towards the ranch with his pokemon, he looked back to see Dawn following him, "Dawn, why are you following me? I promised not to disappear again," Ash said with a frown.

The two made it to the exit with Ash keeping quiet again, Dawn looked over to a now upset Ash, 'we only want to make sure you don't leave us again,' Dawn thought as she looked around the ranch, "I wouldn't know what to do if Ash left me again," Dawn said while crossing her arms.

Ash walked around the ranch to see his pokemon until he looked over to Dawn who was sitting in the field alone. Ash decided to walk up to her but was feeling a little nervous about talking to her, 'everything has changed over the last two years,' Ash thought as he approached the bluenette. He finally made it to the coordinator and sat down next to her, "Dawn, I don't want you to worry about me, I told you I would never disappear again," Ash said while staring at his friend.

"I would like to believe you," Dawn confessed as she gazed up to Ash with a frown, "but how can I be certain?" Dawn asked as she pulled out the note that was given to her by the nurse.

"I said in the note, that I have been meaning to tell you something," Ash said with a smile as he cupped Dawn's face, "to be honest I was too scared to tell you, too nervous to tell you what you meant to me," Ash explained with a chuckle as Dawn watched on while Ash tried to muster the courage to tell Dawn what he had been waiting for him to say, "what I am trying to say Dawn is," Ash stated while gulping in nervousness.

"Come on Ash, you can tell me anything," Dawn said with a smile as she sat there waiting for Ash, "I don't want to wait for the battle to hear you tell me what's on your mind," Dawn said with a smile as she looked into Ash's eyes, "I should have been more patient last night and listened to you," Dawn expressed her regret to Ash.

Ash closed his eyes and remembered the quick kiss from Dawn the previous night, he suddenly felt Dawn's gentle hand caress his face, "Dawn, I love you," Ash declared his feelings to Dawn.

Dawn smiled at the trainer and stood up, "took you long enough, two years to tell me," Dawn said as she walked a few paces ahead of Ash, "Togekiss, Spotlight," Dawn called out a mostly white pokemon. Dawn waited for Ash to stand up to battle her, "come on Ash, I promise that I am a lot stronger than Marcus," Dawn said with a smirk.

The trainer forced himself up and smiled at Dawn, "I will battle you if you give me that note," Ash said coolly, he took one of his pokeballs and threw it out for to prepare for their battle, "Espeon, I choose you," Ash called out his psychic pokemon.

The two looked at each, the wind started to blow whipping Dawn's hair around, while standing their calmly, "I will start this battle off, Togekiss attack with Air Slash," Dawn told her pokemon eager to start the battle.

"Defend with Shadow Ball," Ash replied to Dawn's command.

The two pokemon formed spheres in front of them and got ready to fire it at the opposing pokemon, "too bad Ash, you use a ghost like attack against a normal type," Dawn said confidently, the attacks fired towards one another, the sphere made contact with incredible force causing a massive explosion raising dust and smoke early in the battle, 'he wasn't using Shadow Ball for attacking, he was using it as a defense,' Dawn thought as she saw her pokemon falling back after the attacks made contact.

The explosion continued creating a crater between the two combants, Ash looked across the crater as remnants of the attack flew pass the two trainers, "seems like you have gotten better," Ash said calmly while his Espeon started smiling, "not often my Espeon smiles this early in battle," Ash said happily as he got get ready to call for his next attack.

"Well that's much better, Sky Attack," Dawn said while commanding her pokemon to start off with the next attack, the jubilee pokemon became surrounded in a white aura and start flying towards the opposing pokemon.

Ash remained calm and waited for the right time to unleash his attack, "attack with Psychic," Ash instruct his pokemon with great strength, a blue aura surrounded the psychic pokemon before a wave of energy hit the normal type pokemon knocking it down and preventing the opposing pokemon from landing the attack on the psychic type.

Dawn watched in amazement as her pokemon hit the ground from the force of the psychic type attack, 'amazing, in two years, he has trained a pokemon to become extremely powerful,' Dawn thought to herself as she watched her pokemon trying to get back up, 'I trained during the two years he was away, but he has taken his training to the next level,' Dawn thought as her pokemon collapsed after just one attack landing on the normal pokemon.

Ash knelt down towards his pokemon and congratulated it, "Dawn, you denfinity got better, you were the first to stop Shadow Ball," Ash said while scratching his head.

Dawn recalled her Togekiss and walked over to Ash, she pulled out the note and handed it to Ash, "well a promise is a promise," Dawn said in submission letting go of the note, "would it be alright if we continued to team up, our tag team is unbeatable," Dawn decreed with a confident smile. She turned around to look at the ranch, "I knew you were okay Ash, because I saw that your pokemon were getting stronger," Dawn stated as looked over her shoulder.

Ash opened the note and saw a phone number, "Dawn, who does this phone number belong to?" Ash asked in shock.

Dawn walked over to Ash and smiled, "that number is the rematch between you and Tobias," Dawn replied as she saw Ash turn around and run into the pokemon lab, "I knew he was waiting for the chance to battle Tobias again," Dawn said happily as she followed Ash back into the lab. Dawn walked into the hallway and saw Ash on the phone she waited in the doorway and watched Ash having his conversation, 'he was quick to react,' Dawn thought as she held her Piplup in her arms, "seems like we are set for another journey," Dawn told her pokemon happily.

"So you want a rematch, I accept but only in Unova, complete the Unova gym challenge and battle me in the Unova League," Tobias told Ash with certainty, "also Ash, I want you to complete a challenge for me," Tobias told Ash with confidence.

"What challenge do you want me to complete?" Ash asked his friend quietly.

"I challenge you to capture a legendary pokemon and train it," Tobias told Ash before ending the call with the trainer.

Ash looked at the phone and thought about the challenge, he looked over his shoulder and spotted Dawn walking up to him, "we're going to Unova," Ash said as Dawn placed her hand on his shoulder, "I would be happy if you joined me in Unova," Ash said calmly as he held onto Dawn's hand, "thanks for waiting for me," Ash said quietly.

* * *

**Hope you liked the chapter and the new additions on Ash's team, to make sure, Garchomp is the same Gible from the show.**

**What legendary Pokemon will Ash aim for and what new pokemon will he capture in the Unova Region.**

**Next time: Chapter 3: Starting the new Challenge**


	3. Starting the new Challenge

**Chapter 3: Starting the New Challenge.**

_I hope you all enjoy this chapter, Dawn will get a new attire just for the heck of it._

_Hugh: 16_

_Bianca: 18_

* * *

Ash sat on the airport waiting for Dawn to come out of the shops, he looked around to see his mother who was starting to cry at the prospect of seeing her son leave again, "mom, don't worry I will call you once I reach the Unova Region," Ash said with a smile as his Pikachu stood next to the trainer, he looked around to wait for the bluenette who was taking far too long for just clothes, "come on Dawn our flight takes off in just under thirty minutes," Ash said with a frown as the people started to board the plane. The final calls for Ash and Dawn were heard over the PA system as Delia started to get worried about seeing her son off again, "mom I will come home," Ash promised as he looked down to his partner pokemon.

"Wait up!" Dawn yelled out as she approached Ash and Delia, she was now wearing a white blouse with an open black vest, denim shorts, with white sport shoes and white hat with a pink pokeball design and her longer blue hair tied up, "sorry about that, it took me a while to find a nice outfit for the Unova Region," Dawn said with a nervous smile.

Ash looked to the ground in amazement, "and how long did it take you to find my outfit?" Ash asked the coordinator with slight irritation.

"Ten minutes," Dawn retorted with a giggle as she walked up to the counter and prepared to walk into the plane itself, "Delia, thanks for everything, and no need to worry, I promise to take really good care Ash," Dawn declared with great confidence, "I promise to make sure he makes it back home!" Dawn yelled out as the people in the air terminal started to look at the trainer who was now starting to redden in the face.

"Mom, like Dawn said, No need to worry," Ash repeated his girlfriend's line before turning around to walked up to the aircraft, he turned around and waved at his emotional mother, "I will see you soon mom," Ash told the brunette with an assuring grin before walking down to the entrance of the plane with Dawn.

"So Ash, how many times has your mother done this?" Dawn asked the trainer as the entered the plane, they looked around to find their seat so Ash can reply to the answer, "ah our seats," Dawn said as she took the window seat while Ash took the aisle seat, "wow it looks so good looking down on the tarmac," Dawn said as she watched the plane move towards its position, "so Ash, how many times has your mother done this?" Dawn asked the trainer with a sweet smile.

Ash looked at the energetic blue eyes of the coordinator and chuckled a little, "this was the first time, can understand why, I made you and mom worry for two years," Ash said with guilt as he looked into his hands, "our last journey didn't end so well, but this time around I want it to end a lot better," Ash said with a smile before placing the safety harness on, he placed his hand on the on the armrest as the plane went through the procedures of the take-off.

Dawn placed her hand over the trainers and looked into his eyes, the plane gathered speed and lifted off the ground and higher into the air, "I hope that every flight take off isn't like that," Dawn said with a sigh, she looked out the window still holding onto her boyfriend's hand.

Ash looked down and smiled, he watched the bluenette looking out, he undid his restraint and looked out the window, moving his hand away from Dawn's, "you know flying with your pokemon is much better," Ash stated with a smile before resting back on his seat, "seems like this flight will take a while," Ash said before closing his eyes.

Dawn looked over to see the trainer starting to get some sleep, "hmmmm, he seems such a peaceful sleeper," Dawn said quietly before resting her head on the seat and started to get some sleep.

_One and a half years ago (flashback)_

Dawn had arrived in the town with many of the guys looking at her, most of them walked up to her and started to chat her up, "hey cutie, what about having a date with me?" one of the teenagers asked with a confident smile.

Dawn glared at the teenagers and turned her head away from them, "no way, I am here for someone else," Dawn said as she walked away from the group.

"No one has ever turned me down, go Charmeleon," the male called out a mostly red pokemon with a flaming tail.

Dawn looked over her shoulder and pulled out her pokeball, "I wouldn't recommend it if I were you," Dawn commented but the teenager ignored the warning and called for a powerful fire attack, "Togekiss, spotlight," Dawn called out a mostly white pokemon, "Togekiss attack with Air Slash," Dawn called for the counter attack, the jubilee pokemon sent out blades of air before at the fire type pokemon, the attack smashed into the fire type move and critically hit into the fire type dealing immense damage to the opposing pokemon and knocking it out.

The teenager walked up to his pokemon who was knocked out in a single hit, "amazing, not only really cute, but deadly powerful," he said as he recalled his pokemon, he ran off to leave Dawn alone while his friends were too shocked to move from their spots.

"Do any of you know where I can find the Ketchum residence?" Dawn asked the guys who were taking a step back trying to avoid the same humiliating defeat that their friend suffered, "come on, I am not here to cause trouble, I just want to know where Ash Ketchum lives," Dawn stated as she crossed her arms in frustration and walked off to find it on her own.

Dawn walked through the town to try and find her friend's house, "the only thing my mother told me was to find a house with a red roof," Dawn reminded herself as she looked around to find that every house had a red roof, "gee thanks for the advice mom," Dawn said with slight irritation, "well maybe the better option is to go to Professor Oak's Lab," Dawn told herself as she walked towards the dominating lab.

Dawn continued to walk up the hill with determination until she reached the front gate of the lab, she walked up the pathway and started to think about her journey with the trainer she fell in love with, 'Ash, wherever you are, I will be staying right here,' Dawn thought as she slowly walked up the pathway.

Dawn knocked on the door of the lab and waited for it to open, "hello Dawn, nice to see you again," an elderly man with a white lab coat with a red shirt and brown trousers greeted the young coordinator, he allowed her in to the lab, "what brings you here Dawn?" the professor asked with a smile as led her to the into the lounge room while looking for the trainer who hadn't called in the last six months, "I don't see Ash with you," the professor said with a frown.

Dawn looked to the floor of the lab and clenched her fists, "I was hoping you knew where he was," Dawn said while expressing her worry to the professor. The coordinator showed the professor a letter before it was handed back to her, "Ash left before being handed this letter by a great trainer," Dawn explained as the professor handed a small note to the coordinator, "what's this Professor Oak?" Dawn asked as she took the note from the professor calmly.

The professor walked to a seat and sat down while turning on his television set, "there isn't much I can do to help you, but the person living at that address can do more for you," the professor explained while watching the coordinator fold up the small sheet of paper, "Dawn, if I hear anything from Ash, I will let you know," the professor promised as Dawn walked out of the lounge and to the exit of the lab. Suddenly the phone started ringing after the professor saw Dawn walk out of the building, "who could it be this time?" the professor asked as he walked up to the video phone.

Ash appeared on the phone with a down trodden look on his face, "Professor Oak, I can't stay on the phone for too long, but I am handing my pokemon to you for now, except for Riolu and Gible," Ash said as he placed the remaining pokemon on the teleportation device.

Dawn walked down the street until she spotted the house with the address matching it, she walked up to the house and opened the gate, "I wonder if this person knows where Ash is," Dawn thought to herself as she called out a small blue and white pokemon. Dawn knocked on the door and waited for a response.

The door opened with a woman with shoulder length brown hair, a pink short and a lilac dress, "who are you?" the woman asked with a warm smile.

Dawn looked up to the woman and smiled in response, "my name is Dawn and I've heard from Professor Oak there is a person living at this address who knows Ash Ketchum," Dawn told the woman calmly.

The brunette looked at the young lady and frown at her, "I haven't heard from my son in six months," she said with worry as she allowed the coordinator into her humble abode, "my name is Delia, I am Ash's mother," she introduced herself to Ash's friend, "why are you looking for Ash?" Delia asked the bluenette with calmly.

Dawn sat down and held a note in her hand, she looked to the steps and started to smile, "I am getting worried for Ash, I saw him flying off with a large orange pokemon with green underneath the wings," Dawn explained to the older woman as she picked the cup of water offered to her.

Delia looked into the concerened eyes of the coordinator and smiled at her, "you're fond of my son aren't you?" Delia asked the lady who jolted her head and waved her hands in front of her face while blushing comprehensively, she smiled at the young lady and walked out of the room, "there is no way you can hide it from me, I can tell you love my son," Delia said as she started to giggle lightly, "you can stay here for as long as you need to while you wait for Ash," Delia told Dawn as she as she walked into the kitchen.

_Present time_

Dawn suddenly opened her eyes to see Ash sitting next to her with his eyes closed, hi Pikachu on his lap sleeping as the flight progressed, she looked out the window with a smile, 'good he is still here,' Dawn thought as the trainer tightened his grip on Dawn's hand, "just stay by my side Ash," Dawn said as she turned around to see Ash still sleeping, she noticed that Ash was starting to mutter a few words during the sleep.

"Dawn, stay with me," Ash murmured much to the bluenette's surprise.

She smiled at the trainer and placed her other hand on top of his, she sighed with relief before looking out the window of the aircraft, she looked out to the dark night sky not noticing that the flight had taken so long , "no problem Ash," Dawn said sweetly as she started to go back to sleep.

After Dawn started going to sleep Ash opened his eyes after a long time sleeping, he turned his head and saw that Dawn had her hand over his, he looked up and smiled at the bluenette. Ash used his free hand to move the two hands of Dawn and placed them on her lap, he looked around to see the people sleeping on the plane, he picked up Pikachu and placed him in Dawn's hands, "I will be back in a moment," Ash whispered into Dawn's ear before standing up and started to quietly walk down the aisle.

Dawn opened one eye to see Ash walking into the toilet area of the craft before closing it to continue her slumber. The flight attendant moved through the area to make sure everyone was alright, she walked pass the coordinator and noted that the trainer wasn't around.

Ash walked out of the toilet and made it back to his seat, he looked down to see Dawn sleeping peacefully, the blanket was moving slowly towards the ground, he picked it up and moved back to its original position, "tomorrow we will begin our journey," Ash said quietly as he took his seat next to Dawn, Ash lifted the arm rest separating him and Dawn so that the electric pokemon could sleep between them but instead Dawn moved closer and rested her head on the trainers shoulder, Ash looked down happily and placed his arm around the coordinator before falling asleep himself.

_(4 hours later)_

After the night long flight to the Unova region the plane landed at the Aspertia airfields, Dawn started to wake up and opened her eyes. After a few minutes of waking up Dawn looked up to see the trainer sleeping while she was leaning into him, she smiled peacefully before moving away, "Ash, wake up we have landed in the Unova Region," Dawn declared but Ash still wouldn't wake up, Pikachu looked up and smiled at the coordinator, Dawn stood up and walked away from the electric pokemon, "Ash, if you don't wake up, well I will not tell you what will happen if you don't," Dawn said playfully as the sparks from the trainers pokemon started to fly from his cheeks.

Dawn watched as the electric pokemon unleashed an unforgiving burst of electricity to wake his trainer up, after the electrical attack finish Ash fell to the ground with Dawn moving towards the trainer, she knelt down and smiled at the trainer, "nice to see you're awake," Dawn stated before laughing at the trainer.

Ash looked up while waiting for the effects of the powerful attack dissipated, "geez Dawn, why not think of another way of waking me up?" he asked with slight irritation. Ash slowly got back up with the final arches of lightning leaping from his body, he finally stood up and started to walk off the plane, "time to see what Unova is like."

Dawn followed the trainer and took a chance to look around for a moment, "wow this place is amazing," she stated as she called out her Piplup, she put the pokeball away and allowed Piplup to walk with them. The two continued to look around seeing the large buildings that made the city, they walked further into the city to find a man with spikey blue hair wearing a red jumper and a pair of blue jeans, "look he is battling," Dawn pointed over to a small blue and white pokemon, "never seen such a pokemon," Dawn stated as they walked closer to watch the pokemon battle unfold.

"Alight Oshawott, time to show them your rage," he declared as the water type charged towards the opposing pokemon, "attack with Razor Shell," he called out with confidence.

Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder to watched the water type slash down with the shell, "wow never seen such an attack," Ash said with a smile as the attack landed dealing significant damage to a mostly orange and brown pig like pokemon, the trainer pulled out his pokedex to gather information but the pokedex was unable to, "what no information," Ash enquired as he placed the pokedex back into his pocket.

Meanwhile a woman with short blonde hair, wearing an orange jacket and shoes with a white blouse, black shirt, a green knee length trousers and beret approached them with a smile, she inspected the duo and looked at Dawn's pokedex, "oh dear, you have a pokedex that isn't up to date," she said with a smile as she showed the two people the new pokedex, "oh sorry I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Bianca," the blonde introduced herself.

Ash looked over to Dawn and nodded, "I am Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town," Ash introduced himself coolly.

"I am Dawn from Twinleaf Town," Dawn finished the introductions as the girl looked at the duo in shock.

Bianca looked on in amazement as she gazed at the two pokemon accompanying their trainers, "oh wow so cute," Bianca said as she picked up the electric pokemon, she started to hug the pokemon but Pikachu was starting to feel uncomfortable with the attention.

"Um Bianca, I doubt Pikachu wants to be given this sort of attention," Ash said with a nervous smile.

"No worries, I am a lab assistant," She said as she tightened the grip on the electric pokemon. Suddenly a large burst of electricity shocking the female assistant.

Ash and Dawn stared at each other and started to laugh at the girls misfortune, "so much for being a lab assistant," the two said in unison while Pikachu freed himself and jumped on his masters shoulder.

The other person walked up to the duo and smiled, "wow, you're from different regions, it's great to see pokemon from different regions, my name is Hugh," the male in red introduced himself with a smile while extending his hand out to Ash, "I am a pokemon trainer, but I aim to get stronger to defeat Team Plasma," he said with a smile.

"My name is Ash Ketchum," Ash said while extending his hand out to the trainer.

"And I am Dawn," the bluenette introduced herself warmly.

"Nice to meet you both," Hugh said as a small girl walked up to him, "oh and this is my little sister," Hugh said with a smile as he pointed down to the little girl walking up to the group.

Bianca got up after receiving the shock of her life and walked up to the group, "alright, you three want pokedexes but I only have two, so what I will do is asked the professor for a few extra just in case," the blonde said as she ran off towards a building with a red roof.

The group watched the girl leaving the group, "well I better do a check on my pokemon anyway, how about you two tell me a little more at the Pokemon Center," the teenager said with a smile as he walked off with his sister towards the same building.

Ash and Dawn looked at the Pokemon Center, the two walked up to the medical facility and walked into the crowded building, "Dawn, I will get our food," Ash said as he walked up to the food court of the building to place his order in, he walked back to Dawn to wait for the food, "I think I will give my mom a call," Ash said before standing up and walking to the phone.

Dawn followed the trainer and waited for the call to come through, "no one home Ash?" Dawn asked the trainer as the call was picked up by the trainers mother, "hey Delia, you see Ash is here with me," Dawn chimed in as the mother nodded in approval.

"I was so worried you wouldn't call, but I am glad you did," Delia said with a nervous smile as the trainer scratched his head and smiled at his mother, "I hope you enjoy the new region Ash," Delia said before her son could get a word in.

Ash smiled and closed his eyes, "mom, I have Dawn keeping me in line, so you have nothing to worry about," Ash said as he looked up to the bluenette with confidence, "the city we're in is amazing mom, I am sure there are plenty of places to see and I will let you know of the best ones for you mom," Ash said with a smile as Dawn sat down next to him.

"Well I have been waiting for the chance to go on a vacation," Ash's mother said with a grin as she pulled out a bag full of brochures, "I haven't got one for the region you two are in, which was it again?" Delia asked calmly while looking though the paper to find out.

"Mom, try finding Unova," Ash replied with a smirk as the while watched his mom looking for the brochure.

"Sorry I have to go, you two take care," Delia told the duo with a soothing smile before closing off her end of the call.

Ash walked to the table and found that the food was waiting for them, "wow great service," Ash said as he noticed Hugh eating his plate of food, "Hugh, you're going to eat with us?" Ash asked as the other trainer nodded in approval.

After finishing his mouthful of food he pushed his empty plate, "so where are you two from? And what are the trainers like?" Hugh asked curiously as he watched Ash and Dawn eating their meal, "well wait to finish your food," he said with a happy tone.

While Hugh was waiting for the two to finish their meals he showed his sister the pokemon from the different region, "big brother, I have never seen these pokemon before," she said as her brother pet her on the head, "they seem so strong," she said while the pokemon started to scratch the backs of their heads in slight embarrassment, "can I go outside with them?" Hugh's sister asked with a smile as she walked out of the medical facility.

"My sister had her pokemon taken from her when I was younger, I couldn't do a thing about it since they ambushed us and defeated my pokemon in one attack," Hugh explained causing Ash and Dawn to stop eating so they could listen to the story, "I gave my sister a Purrloin for her birthday, sadly on the same day we walked to the lookout," Hugh stated before Bianca walked up and handed Ash, Dawn and Hugh a pokedex each.

Hugh walked out of the Pokemon Center with anger etched on his face, "he isn't so different from you Ash," Dawn told the trainer as their respective pokemon ran back into the pokemon Center and back to their trainers, "hey Bianca are there any pokemon contests in this region?" Dawn asked the assistant,

Bianca looked over to the coordinator with a puzzled look on her face, "what's a Pokemon Contest?" Bianca asked while tilting her head,

Dawn looked over to Ash and frowned, "it seems like we have come to a region that doesn't have Pokemon Contests," Ash explained much to the disappointment of his girldfriend, "Bianca, you know where the lookout is?" Ash asked the lady with a smile.

"Yes I know, before you exit from the city to the north, turn left then go up a flight of stairs," Bianca retorted with a smile, "Oh no, I have to be somewhere," Bianca said before running out of the Pokemon Center.

Ash and Dawn walked out of the medical facility and walked further north through the city, "Ash, do you think Hugh is up those stairs?" Dawn asked while looking up those steps.

Ash nodded and started walking up the steps, he looked around in amazement, "hey Dawn, get up here now," Ash demanded as he ran to the rails of the city lookout, the scenery was amazing, the mountains acting as a backdrop with a forest and lake in front of the trainer, "wow this is amazing," Ash said as Dawn stood next to him, she looked out to see the view her eyes started to sparkle, "told you it was great," Ash said as he looked into Dawn's eyes.

"I know this place is great," Dawn said with a bright smile.

"You know I come here all the time, I come here to remember the day I swore revenge," a familiar voice pointed out causing the Ash and Dawn to turn around, "it was on this spot where my sister lost her pokemon, I still don't believe I have the strength to face Team Plasma," Hugh pointed out with his fists clenched in anger.

Ash and Dawn looked at each other with a worrisome look in their eyes, "who is Team Plasma?" Ash and Dawn asked at the same time.

Hugh looked up in shock, "what? You've never heard of Team Plasma?" he asked the duo in shock, he walked up to the rails to have a look at the scenery for himself so he could tell the story, "Team Plasma are an organization that steal pokemon from people, but they call it liberating," Hugh stated while slamming his fist down on the rail, "my sister's pokemon was liberated by Team Plasma," Hugh pointed out while his anger started to grow, "I promised my sister to get her pokemon back for her," Hugh stated as he started to walk towards the steps.

"Wait Hugh, why not travel with us?" Ash asked the trainer with a smile as he turned around in shock.

Dawn looked over to Ash and placed her hand on his shoulder, "that's right, we are very strong trainers ourselves so we can help you train while Ash gets his rematch against a certain trainer," Dawn explained happily, "I might not have a goal in this region yet, but it doesn't mean that I will be separated from Ash," Dawn pointed out as she stood next to Ash.

"You two will help me even if you're busy?" Hugh asked his new friends, "I really don't ask for help often, but sometimes taking help when it is offered is what gets the results you need," Hugh pointed out with a smile.

"Good, now I have to get the last of the supplies so I can cook dinner while we're traveling together," Dawn chimed in as she walked away with her Piplup, Dawn walked back up to Ash with a smile on her face, "oh and Ash stay out of trouble," Dawn said as she got into the trainers face.

Ash jumped back causing Hugh to start laughing, "Wow Ash, she seems to know how to keep you in line," Hugh said as the coordinator walked down the steps to get the supplies for their journey.

* * *

**Chapter equals over, now they have a new traveling companion who has a goal on this journey, will Dawn find her goal? And what has Dawn learnt about cooking over the time skip?**

**Next time: Chapter 4: Basic expectations.**

**The name sort of implies what will happen, yes a Gym battle.**

**Ash's Team is Lucario, Pikachu and Garchomp. The rest of his team will be caught as the story progresses, with up to two legendries captured for him.**

**Dawn's Team is just Piplup, she will also capture a new lot of pokemon during the story as well. She too might capture a legendary pokemon.**


	4. Basic Expectations

**Chapter 4: Basic Expectations.**

_I see this story has become one of great potential, I am glad to see people liking this story._

_Cheren: 18_

* * *

Ash, Dawn and Hugh walked through the city to get the final supplies, Ash tried to find the gym with hopes of finding the chance to battle the gym leader, "Hugh, do you know where the gym is?" Ash asked his friend while walking through the streets of Aspertia City.

Hugh looked over his shoulder and pointed to the school building, "that school opened up a year ago, supposedly the gym leader is the boyfriend of Bianca," he replied calmly as he turned around to go back to the Pokemon Center, "tell me how it goes, I have no interest in going after the gyms, I only seek to become strong to get back what belongs to my sister," Hugh said while leaving the area.

Ash and Dawn looked at each other with concern etched on their faces, they nodded and decided to follow Hugh, "Dawn, I would like for him to watch my battle, if we are going to help him," Ash started calmly as they walked to the lookout again, Ash looked around again and when Dawn was about to give Ash thought of the best place to do some thinking he looked over to Dawn, "I know he would be heading to the lookout."

Ash and Dawn quickly ran over to the lookout, looking at the steps towards the top step ready to talk to Hugh, "so how do we tell Hugh that seeing your battles could help him learn new techniques?" Dawn asked the trainer while almost reaching the top of the first flight of steps, "he seems only interested on getting his sister's pokemon back," Dawn explained with a sigh.

After walking up the steps the duo spotted saw the new trainer leaning on the rail looking at the amazing scenery, "Hugh, why not watch the battle, you could learn a fair bit," Ash told his new friend with a smile, he approached the blue haired trainer and leaned against the railing, "come on Hugh, how will you get stronger if you don't participate in these battles or even watch them?" Ash asked his friend but was ignored as the rookie trainer continued to look out to the horizon, "well how about we go out and capture a pokemon?" Ash asked trainer calmly as he turned around.

"Ash, I know what you're trying to do, I want to get stronger my way, but catching more pokemon, well that's a different story," Hugh stated as he walked pass the trainer, "well what are we waiting for?" he asked as Dawn walked up to Ash.

Dawn looked over to Ash and smiled, "I am going to check up on my other pokemon," Dawn said as she left the trainers side for the Pokemon Center.

Ash stood at the rim of the lookout and smiled, he looked down to see his Pikachu standing on the rail, "we better see what pokemon reside in this region," Ash said as he walked down the steps on his own, he walked to the exit to meet with Hugh on the first route, Ash walked around the road looking at the trees lining the road with rolllng fields with numerous pokemon running through the fields, "amazing, I haven't seen any of these pokemon before," Ash said with a smile.

Meanwhile at the Pokemon Center Dawn walked up to the video phones to call Professor Oak to check up on her pokemon, she pressed in her numbers and waited for the professor to pick up the call after the first unsuccessful call she tried again but this time she had success, "wow professor you look like a mess," Dawn said with a smile as a small brown pokemon appeared on the screen to use another move on the professor, "Buneary," Dawn said while shrugging her shoulders.

"Please take her, I don't think I can last another day with her beating me up," the professor said as the small pokemom jumped up on the screen and started crying while scratching at the screen, "please," the professor begged as Dawn let out a small giggle, "why is your Buneary acting like this?" Professor Oak while tears running down his face.

"I think I know why," Dawn retorted as she looked away, "Buneary, please get back in your pokeball," Dawn instructed her, Dawn watched as the professor recalled the small pokemon and placed her pokeball on the teleportation device, 'she doesn't like being away from Pikachu,' Dawn thought as she started to laugh a little, she waited for a moment as her pokeball arrived at her end of the call, "thank professor," Dawn said as the elderly professor tried to get up.

"No, thank you," they professor replied with relief written all over his face, "by the way where is Ash?" the professor asked calmly.

"He is gone out to help a rookie trainer catch a pokemon," Dawn retorted as the picked up her pokeball containing the normal type pokemon, "I will be seeing how things are, so I will call up in the next city," Dawn told the professor with a smile as she hung up and walked out of the medical facility, she walked away from the phone and looked at her Piplup who was eating food he got from her bag.

While Dawn was dealing with her situation Hugh was having little success capturing a new pokemon, "Hugh, don't rush it," Ash instructed the younger teen while crossing his arms, "how about I show how it's done," Ash said before looking around to see a pokemon moving around, he walked up to the small black pokemon with a red paws, the trainer pulled out his new pokedex and gathered information on the pokemon, "so this is a Zorua," Ash enquired as his Pikachu started to show sparks from his cheeks, "hey buddy I want you to hold back a bit on your power," Ash whispered to his pokemon.

Pikachu jumped of his trainers shoulder and got ready to battle the dark type pokemon, "I will watch to see how it's done," Hugh said as he sat down on the grass and quietly watched the trainer start the battle with Zorua.

"Pikachu, attack with Thunderbolt," Ash commanded his pokemon, the small electric type pokemon powered up a powerful attack and unleashed it at the small dark type pokemon, only holding back fifty percent of his power, 'Hugh needs to see this battle drawn out,' Ash thought out as the small dark type received a mighty hit from the thunder type pokemon. Ash watched the illusion pokemon attack the electric mouse pokemon with a fury swipes attack, Pikachu looked over to Ash taking the attack which was not doing any damage to his pokemon, "hit it with Iron Tail," Ash called out calmly.

Hugh watched the electric mouse pokemon charge at the dark type pokemon with a stiff tail before the small pokemon slammed his tail into the dark type, 'he is holding back,' Hugh thought as the dark type fell to the ground unable to battle, he watched his new friend throw a pokeball at the dark type and trapping it inside the device, after a few seconds the ball signified that Ash had captured the pokemon. Hugh walked over to Ash with slight irritation, "why did you hold back?" Hugh asked as the trainer picked up the pokeball containing his new pokemon.

"I held back because I didn't believe you would capture a pokemon after knocking it out in one hit," Ash explained as another pokemon appeared in front of them, the small brown pokemon puppy like pokemon walked pass the duo, Ash pointed over to the pokemon and smiled at it, "why not try to capture that pokemon?" Ash enquired as he sat down with his partner pokemon, he looked over his shoulder to see if Dawn was nowhere to be seen, "great she is taking her sweet time."

"Alright Oshawott, time to unleash your rage," Hugh called out his only pokemon, a small blue and white pokemon stood at the ready to battle the small brown pokemon, "time to start things off with Razor Shell," Hugh called out the first attack of the battle, Oshawott charged towards the normal type pokemon while pick its shell from his stomach as a blade extended from the shell.

Ash watched the water type pokemon slashing down on the normal type, the puppy pokemon barely dodged the attack and launched a powerful attack of its own, "that's Take Down, Hugh have Oshawott use Aqua Jet," Ash instructed his pokemon, "use the move as a defensive move," Ash finished as Hugh nodded calmly.

"Oshawott, use Aqua Jet to dodge Take Down," Hugh complied with the experienced trainers instructions, a powerful jet of water surrounded the water type as he jumped up and flew towards the normal type pokemon, Oshawott dodged the powerful tackling attack until he turned around and charged towards normal type and slammed into it with great power, "yes now finish it with Fury Cutter," Hugh commanded with great confidence, Oshawott charged towards the opposing pokemon with his shell and slashed down on Lilipup knocking it out giving the rookie trainer the chance to capture the pokemon.

"Hugh now is your chance," Ash said with a smile, he watched as the new trainer prepared his pokeball and threw it at the injured pokemon. The device opened up and trapped the small pokemon inside, Ash and Hugh watched the pokeball wobble from side to side, waiting in hope for the capture, suddenly the pokeball chimed out to make the capture successful, Hugh picked up the pokeball as the experienced trainer walked over to Hugh to congratulate him for the capture.

"Thanks for your guidance," Hugh said with a smile as he extended his hand to Ash, "I hope to learn more from you," Hugh pointed out with a smile as he walked to the cities entrance.

Dawn walked pass the rookie trainer with a smile on her face, she pulled out a pokeball, "come on out," Dawn called out her pokemon, in a quick move the small brown and yellow pokemon ran up to Ash's Pikachu and hugged him causing Ash and Dawn to laugh, "Buneary almost wrecked the lab because she wasn't with Pikachu," Dawn pointed out as her pokemon continued to happily hug Pikachu, "I was asked to take Buneary by professor Oak," Dawn said as she pet her pokemon on the head.

"I caught a pokemon to show Hugh what he needed to do," Ash said calmly as he pulled out his pokeball and called out his new addition, "this is Zorua," Ash said after calling out his new dark type pokemon, the small dark type walked over to its new team mates socially and introduced itself to the pokemon, "friends already," Ash said happily as the he recalled his new pokemon to his pokeball, "I think it's time for me to face the gym leader," Ash said calmly as his Pikachu tried to jump up on to the trainers left shoulder but was stopped by Buneary.

Dawn looked around and saw the fields where the pokemon were frolicking in every area, "this region is so amazing, there are pokemon the would be great for contests," Dawn said as she walked up towards the long grassy areas, she looked over to Ash who was standing there watching the beautiful bluenette looking into the horizon, she closed her eyes as the gentle breeze started to whip her long blue hair around, "kind of sad that pokemon contests aren't in this region," Dawn said while petting her piplup on the head.

Ash moved to Dawn's position and placed his hand on her shoulder, "you have nothing to worry about, there is still something for you to do," Ash told his girlfriend with a soothing smile, Dawn looked over to Ash and nodded happily, "plus why not establish pokemon contests here, I am sure there would be plenty of people interested," Ash said smartly as he turned around to see Pikachu still being smothered with attention from Buneary, "come on Dawn, I have a battle I need to win," Ash told Dawn before walking back into the city.

Dawn looked up and smirked confidently as she thought about Ash's idea, 'advertising pokemon contests, introduce it to Unova?' Dawn wondered before turning around to see Ash walking ahead of her, "wait up Ash."

Ash waited for Dawn, she ran with Piplup in her arms, the trainer looked down to see his partner pokemon still getting the attention of Dawn's Buneary, "Dawn, I will need Pikachu for the battle," Ash stated while walking through the city.

Dawn pulled out her pokeball and recalled the small bunny, "we better see what Hugh is up to," Dawn said as she walked next to Ash.

After walking into the city they spotted Hugh standing near the steps of the lookout, "what are we waiting for? I change my mind I want to see the gym battle," Hugh said calmly before Ash nodded calmly, "good the gym is not too far from the Pokemon Center," Hugh stated as he started to point the way to the gym.

"I will meet you two there, there is something I want to do," Dawn said with a smile as she ran off to the pokemon center. After making it to the medical facility she called out her Buneary and placed her Piplup on the bed, "you two wait here for a moment," Dawn said with a smile as she pulled out a cheerleaders outfit from her bag.

After the two pokemon waited for their trainer to finish her change of wardrobe Buneary looked around inside Dawn's bag, she finally found a small outfit for the two pokemon, Buneary start to think about how she would look in this new outfit imagining Pikachu being impressed with this, the door opened and Dawn walked out in her new cheerleader outfit, "well I hope Ash likes this, now time to dress you two up," Dawn said with a smile as the two pokemon put on the outfit.

Ash and Hugh waited at the entrance for Dawn to arrive, "what could be keeping her?" Hugh asked while crossing his arms, "you seem so calm about this," Hugh stated with a frown while tapping his feet on the ground.

Ash chuckled slightly as the time started to pass quickly, "knowing her she would be getting in her cheerleader outfit, she use to do that a lot when she supported my gym battles in the Sinnoh Region," Ash explained happily as he remembered the second gym battle in that region, "I lost the first battle there, but thanks to a lot of her ideas I managed to win that battle," Ash said with a smile as he waited patiently for Dawn to arrive.

"So you two leant off each other," Hugh pointed out while leaning against the building, "so that in other words makes you two a team with an unbreakable bond," Hugh said with a proud look on his face, "you know that sort of team work makes your pokemon stronger," Hugh said as he looked up to the sky, "you both seem to care for your pokemon so much, I admire that in people," Hugh said as he looked over to Ash who was waiting for Dawn to arrive.

"I will train you Hugh, but you need to rethink about this whole revenge thing, revenge doesn't end well," Ash stated as he at the other side of the street to see Dawn approaching them, "you see what I mean, Dawn will always support me in gym battles," Ash said as Dawn walked up to the duo standing near the gym, "took your sweet time."

Dawn smiled as she showed off her pokemon to Ash, "I had to give Buneary some words of encouragement, you know how she gets with Pikachu," Dawn said as the group walked into the gym to see a man with black hair wearing a white shirt with a red tie, blue jeans and brown shoes, "who is this guy?" Dawn asked quietly as he walked over to the group.

"My name is Cheren, I am the gym leader of this city," the man introduced himself calmly, "who is here to challenge me?" Cheren asked coolly before Ash stepped forward confidently, "seems like we have someone from a different region," Cheren said with a smile as he walked up to the Pikachu on the trainers shoulder.

"I am Ash Ketchum, I am here to challenge you to a gym battle," Ash decreed with great confirdence.

Cheren nodded and escorted the trainer to the battlefield, "the gym has just recently opened up," Cheren pointed out as Dawn walked over to a set of seats and got ready to cheer for Ash, "how does a two on two battle sound to you Ash, my best team isn't here at the moment," Cheren said with a frown as his opponent looked to the ground in dissapointement.

"Well go and get your best team," Ash ordered the gym leader angrily, "I want to battle the best," Ash told Cheren with his fists clenched as the gym leader looked into the determined eyes of the trainer standing in front of him, "there is no point to a battle if you don't go at your very best," Ash remarked as Cheren smiled at him.

Cheren walked over to the phone in the gym and called the professor, "hey Professor Juniper, I have a trainer that wants to face my very best pokemon, can you please send me Stoutland and Serperior?" he asked the person over the phone. After a few moments two pokeballs appeared on the teleportation device, Cheren looked over to Ash with a smile and nodded, "you should know, I am one of the top trainers of this region," Cheren stated as he stood at his end of the battlefield, "Stoutland, let's show them a battle to be proud of," Cheren called out a large brown pokemon with black fur on the back a cream colored moustache, "send out your very best," Cheren told Ash calmly.

Ash smirked as he pulled out his pokeballs, "right you asked for it Lucario, I choose you," Ash called out a blue and black pokemon to the battle.

Dawn started cheering as the trainer got ready to call for the first attack of the battle, "come on Ash, show him what you're made of," Dawn cheered as the two pokemon in front of her cheered as well.

Hugh sat there waiting for the battle to start, 'I wonder what he is really capable of,' Hugh thought as he observed the more experienced trainer standing at his end of the battlefield calmly, "he is far to calm, he wanted the best from the gym leader," Hugh whispered to himself as the two waited for one another to make a move.

"Lucario, show them your Force Palm," Ash instructed his fighting type pokemon.

"Double Edge now," Cheren called out for the counter attack. The two attackers charged at one another with amazing force, the big heart pokemon clashed with the aura pokemon and was pushed back by the strength of Lucario, "no way, his pokemon is stronger than expected," Cheren said in amazement as his pokemon slowly got up, he looked over to Ash with a sly grin, "I dare say you're holding back, if you could do that much damage in one attack you could've knocked it out with the same move," Cheren pointed out while shaking nervously.

"Well, I don't enjoy battles by going at full strength," Ash stated while his pokemon got ready to attack again, "come on show me what you've got Cheren," Ash chided the gym leader to make an attack.

"Fine, Stoutland attack with Fire Fang," Cheren demanded while trying to get his confidence back, the big heart pokemon ran towards the opposing pokemon with incredible speed.

"Lucario dodged the attack," Ash told his pokemon calmly, as Stoutland jumped into the air and was ready to pounce of the fighting type with its fiery fangs but Lucario moved quickly to dodge the powerful attack, "now use Aura Sphere," Ash ordered his pokemon.

The aura pokemon jumped into the air and formed a powerful sphere in his palms, he unleashed the mighty attack at the at the foe who was still trying to get back up after the failed attack, the sphere slammed into the normal type pokemon dealing immense damage to it, "Stoutland!" Cheren called out in shock as his pokemon fell to the ground again this time it was knocked out from the battle, "unbelievable he is super strong, almost like that trainer with Darkrai," Cheren said as he recalled his fallen pokemon.

"Did you say Darkrai?" Ash questioned the gym leader as he recalled his pokemon from the battle.

"Yeah I battled a man by the name of Tobias three days ago, he beat me with only his Darkrai, he did the exact same thing as you," Cheren said with a smile as he pulled out his next pokeball, "he asked me to battle with my very best pokemon," Cheren stated calmly as he laughed at himself while Ash clenched his left fist, "Serperior, time to battle," Cheren called out his second pokemon with confidence.

"Pikachu, I choose you," Ash called out his electric mouse pokemon.

Hugh looked on in shock as the trainer, "Ash, you fool you electric types have the disadvantage against grass type pokemon," Hugh called out in anger as Dawn continued to look on in confidence, "and why are you so calm?" Hugh asked the bluenette who was getting ready to cheer.

"Ash knows grass types are defensively strong against electric types, he just wants to make this battle harder on himself," Dawn pointed out with great knowledge as she started to cheer for Ash, "let's go Ash, win this battle!" Dawn cheered loudly as the battle got started.

"Whatever, he could easily win with a different pokemon," Hugh said quietly as he looked back towards the while ignoring the cheering from Dawn and her pokemon, 'she is wasting her energy, she knows that Ash is going to win this battle,' Hugh thought while trying to maintain his nerves.

"Serperior attack with Leaf Blade," Cheren instructed his pokemon calmly, the grass type leapt into the air and spun around, his tail started to glow a bright green before slicing down on the electric mouse.

Pikachu dodged the attack easily, "Pikachu Volt Tackle," Ash commanded with confidence. A thunderous aura surrounded the electric mouse pokemon before running with vicious intent, the grass type barely had enough time to dodge the incoming attack, the attack landed with devastating results, "nicely done buddy," Ash said calmly as the grass type fell back towards the gym leader panting from the power of the thunder attack.

Cheren stared in amazement as the electric pokemon landed next to his trainer with red sparks flying from the pokemon, "amazing, even with the type advantage I am still struggling in this battle," Cheren said as his closed his eyes in amazement, "he's still holding back on me," Cheren stated as he started to laugh at himself, "alright Serperior, use Frenzy Plant," Cheren called for the powerful attack.

Serperior let out a roar as vines appeared from under the ground, looping from one position to another until it got closer to Pikachu, "Pikachu, attack with Iron Tail," Ash told his pokemon with a smile, the electric pokemon jumped on the vines and ran towards the origin of the attack. The electic mouse jumped up and slammed his tail down onto the on the larger pokemon, the serpentine like pokemon fell to the ground again after a mighty blow from Pikachu, "sweet," Ash said happily as his Pikachu waited to see if the large green pokemon was ready to battle.

"I don't believe this, what's with all these great trainers?" Cheren asked himself as he recalled his Serperior from the battle; he walked up to the trainer and extended his hand to offer a hand shake, "your pokemon ae extremely well trained," Cheren pointed out with a smile.

Ash extended his hand and shook Cheren's hand in reply, "thanks Cheren, but I still have catching up to do if I want to battle Tobias," Ash explained calmly as he was approached by Dawn and Hugh, Ash was given a badge to commemorate his victory against the gym leader, "well I better take my pokemon to the Pokemon Center," Ash stated happily while placing his gym badge in the badge case.

"How did you become so strong?" Hugh asked the trainer in slight anger, "you held back in this battle, yet you still won with great ease," Hugh pointed out in frustration before walking out of the gym not allowing Ash to answer his question.

"He needs to take it easy, he is so obsessed with revenge it makes him appear too serious," Ash stated with a smile as he watched Buneary embrace his Pikachu again, "even Buneary doesn't seem to mind," Ash said while watching Buneary dance with Pikachu.

* * *

**Next Chapter I will introduce an important character to the story, one that will have change Hugh a little. **

**Next time chapter 5: Enter Rosa**

**Okay the name of the chapter gives it away.**


	5. Enter Rosa

**Chapter 5: Enter Rosa.**

_With Rosa entering the story I intend on having her being Hugh's equal but also something else._

_Rosa: 15_

* * *

Ash and Dawn walked away from the city with Hugh following close behind, he looked over to the trainer with slight irritation not watching where he was going, out of nowhere a girl on a bike rode right into Hugh causing the two to fall onto the ground, he closed his eyes as the pain crept through his body, he suddenly felt a bit of weight fall on him causing him to open his eyes suddenly, he looked up to see a young girl with long brown hair tied in pig tails wearing a white and light blue jumper, black pants, a cream colored skirt and white shoes and visor with a Pink pokeball design on the front, "oh man why not watch where you're going," Hugh said while pushing the girl aside.

She opened her eyes and looked at the rookie trainer with an angered expression, "you should be the one watching where he is going," she said before Ash and Dawn approached them, she looked over her shoulder and got up off the ground, she walked over to Ash and smiled, "I have to admit, you're way more handsome in person than you are on TV," the girl said as Dawn clenched her fist in anger.

"Um yeah, you know who I am?" Ash asked the brunette as he leapt away from the girl, "and you might not want to anger my girlfriend," Ash said while walking up to Dawn.

"You're Ash Ketchum, to be honest watching all your battles on TV for the last few years, has made me your biggest fan she said as she pulled out a book containing all of Ash's pictures, she eventually pulled out a sharpie to get his autograph, "so how about giving me an autograph?" the girl asked as she handed the trainer a book.

Ash shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the book, "okay so who are you?" Ash asked the energetic female calmly.

"My name is Rosa," she replied as the bluenette walked up to her, "I also know who you are, it's just a little sad we don't have pokemon contests here," Rosa explained as she pulled out a book filled with Dawn's pictures, "you can tell can't you, I am also a really big fan of Dawn as well," Rosa pointed out happily as she watched the trainer sign her book.

Hugh walked up to the group with a frown, "you know, we don't have time to sign autographs," Hugh said with a frown as Dawn looked over to Ash and smiled, "you Ash need to help me train as a battler," he said while walking ahead.

Rosa walked up to the rookie trainer and jumped in front of him, "where are your manners, I introduced myself, now tell me who you are," Rosa demanded with her hands at her hips.

"My name is Hugh," he replied as he walked away from the girl.

Rosa walked over to Ash and Dawn again and grabbed her books, "so are you two going out yet?" Rosa asked the duo as they began to scratch the backs of their heads in embarrassment, "oh wow you're faces are beet red," Rosa said as she looked over to Hugh who wasn't paying any attention, "hey you know I am a starting trainer as well, I am heading to Floccesy Town, then I am off to Virkbank City to see the movie studio," Rosa said as she grabbed the sharpies from her new friends, "do you both mind if I travel with you?" Rosa asked as she clasped her hands together as she started to beg, "I promise I will not hit on Ash….. yet," Rosa said as Dawn started to smile at the younger girl.

"There is no way you can break my bond with Ash," Dawn replied with a smile, "why not try with Hugh, he needs someone to battle with on equal terms," Dawn said as she pointed over to the spikey haired trainer.

Rosa looked over to the trainer and frowned she crossed her arms and looked away, "no way, why would I want to be with someone who can't watch where they're going?" Rosa asked as the two people looked away from each other, "if he is my equal then why doesn't he prove it?" Rosa asked as she pulled out a pokeball.

Hugh looked over his shoulder and shook his head, "why should I battle someone who is hyperactive?" Hugh asked as he walked to the distance.

Rosa smirked as the trainer was about to leave the scene, "so your scared you might get beaten by a girl," Rosa said as the boy looked back in irritation, "that's fine, after all we are starting our journeys," Rosa said as she walked up to Ash and Dawn, "I am certain that Ash would battle me with his newly caught Zorua," Rosa said with a smirk as the rookie trainer walked over to Ash and Dawn.

Ash looked at the girl with slight frustration, "you watched me catch a pokemon?" Ash asked as he walked back towards Dawn who was starting to laugh at her boyfriend, "hey Dawn, why not battle with Buneary?" Ash asked the bluenette calmly.

"Wait a minute, you said you're a rookie trainer, so what is your starter pokemon?" Hugh asked the female as he called out his Oshawott. "I was given this pokemon a few days ago," Hugh pointed out as he as he waited for the young girl to call out her pokemon.

"Snivy, it's show time," Rosa called out a mostly green pokemon with a leaf shaped tail, Hugh looked on in shock as his opponents showed off her pokemon, "yeah she is really cool, I got her when I was in Nuvema Town about a week ago," Rosa said as the small grass type glared at the water type making him nervous, "Snivy attack with Leaf Blade," Rosa called out for the first attack of the battle.

The small grass type leapt into the air while spinning around with a glowing tail, "quick Oshawott dodge the attack," Hugh instructed his pokemon while keeping calm, the water type barely dodged the attack and got ready to launch an attack of his own.

"So Ash, do you think this is a good idea for Hugh to battle Rosa?" Dawn asked as he sat down next to Ash who was watching the battle with intent.

Ash turned his gaze to Dawn and nodded with certainty, "it would be better if they battle each other anyway, we would just thrash and that wouldn't be good for their confidence," Ash retorted as he looked back at the battle which was starting to heat up, "with Rosa here she can help Hugh train," Ash explained as he fell back and watched the two pokemon collide with their attacks.

"Time for a secret weapon, Snivy use Attract," Rosa called for another attack, a small circle of heart surrounded the grass type before the attack pulsed towards the water type pokemon.

"Oshawott, dodge it hurry," Hugh instructed his pokemon with panic in his voice, the water type pokemon did his best to dodge the attack but was eventually hit by the attack, Oshawott skipped towards the grass type and started to fawn all over her, "come on Oshawott, get a hold of yourself," Hugh called out to his pokemon in panic.

Rosa started to laugh at Hugh who was trying to get his Oshawott back under his control, "time to end this, Snivy attack with Leaf Tornado," Rosa order her pokemon. A whirlwind of leaves appeared from the tail of Snivy and slammed into Oshawott with great force knocking him out after the impact, "seems like I win the battle," Rosa said with a cheeky grin as she called back her pokemon.

Hugh recalled his pokemon and frowned at his friends, "My first defeat," Hugh said with a sigh.

"Why the long face, you battled pretty well," Rosa said with a smile as she walked up to the more experienced trainers.

Ash and Dawn got up and walked towards Hugh, "it seems like we can have a break before we reach the next town," Dawn decreed with a smile a she pulled out a recipe book and some ingredients, "it would be a great idea if we have something to eat," Dawn stated as she looked over to Ash with a smile, "Ash and Hugh, I want you to get the fire wood," Dawn instructed the two men.

Ash stared at Dawn in shock as he started to wonder what Dawn had learnt in the last two years, "um Dawn, since when did you learn how to cook?" Ash asked the bluenette happily.

"I will tell you once you get the fire wood," Dawn replied with a wink before setting up the table, "well, it seems I have to cook for another person," Dawn stated as she looked over to the brunette taking care of her pokemon, she refocused back on cutting the vegetables precisely as she waited for the fire wood to arrive.

While Dawn was preparing the food Ash and Hugh walked around the fields in search of twigs and wood, "Ash, why do we have to find this stuff?" Hugh asked the experienced trainer with a frown, he walked around some more to pick up the sticks and added them to the small pile in his hands, "I also have another question, why are we letting that nuisance travel with us?" Hugh asked the trainer who was starting to get a little annoyed with the rookie's complaints.

"Hugh, we are letting her travel with us because she will help you become a better trainer," Ash retorted with anger as he picked up another bit of wood, "plus, it would also give Dawn a chance to teach her about contests as well," Ash pointed out with a smile as the two started to walk back towards the camp, "also, when Dawn and Rosa capture a pokemon, we will introduce you to double battles, that would also help you level up," Ash explained calmly while looking around to see a brown pokemon with a cream underbody and a yellow like flower for hair, "wow so many different pokemon," Ash said with a smile while walking back to the camp.

Ash and Hugh placed the wood on the ground and helped place it around the cauldron. "Ash, can I battle your Zorua?" Hugh asked with a smirk as he pulled out his pokemon, "it would be great to see Lilipup in action as well," Hugh pointed out while the two girls worked together to prepare the meal.

Ash nodded happily and called out his Zorua, Rosa looked up and saw the dark type pokemon she ran up to the small pokemon and started to pet it on the head, "oh wow such a cute pokemon," Rosa squealed a she picked it up, "why battle with such a nice pokemon?" Rosa asked while pouting at Ash, she walked away with the small pokemon and started to give it some food.

"Rosa, can I have my pokemon back?" Ash asked the brunette as the small pokemon tried to free itself from the grasp of the young girl, "Rosa, Zorua doesn't like it," Ash said with a sigh while the dark type scratched the left arm of the girl.

Zorua ran to Ash and then looked over to Hugh getting ready to battle the trainer, "alright Lilipup, time to unleash your rage," Hugh called out the puppy pokemon, the two pokemon growled at each other and waited for the commands of their trainers, "start this off with Take Down," Hugh instructed his pokemon calmly.

The normal type ran towards the illusion pokemon with ferocious intent, Ash stood there calmly with a smile on his face, "dodge it," Ash instructed quietly, the dark type used its superior agility to dodge the attack, the illusion pokemon jumped up and unleashed a powerful dark beam of energy at the normal type pokemon, "I never said to use Dark Pulse," Ash said with a smile, the normal type turned around to find the dark type attack getting closer.

"Lilipup, quick dodge the attack now," Hugh called out in panic. The small brown pokemon tried to dodge the attack but was too slow and was pushed back towards Ash, "amazing Zorua is stronger than I thought," Hugh stated as he recalled his pokemon, "I have a lot I need to learn," Hugh said before walking away from the battle.

Ash recalled his dark type pokemon then looked over to his friend, "hey Hugh, can I talk to you for a moment?" Ash asked the rookie trainer seriously as he walked up to him.

"Go ahead Ash," Hugh retorted quietly.

"You know, you need to start enjoying battles, I haven't seen you smile yet," Ash stated while the two guys walked back to the table, "yes what happened in the past was horrible, but moving towards a future would be the best option," Ash said while looking at the clenched fists of Hugh.

"Ash, you never had a pokemon stolen from you, you never looked on helplessly as one of your sisters pokemon was snatched away from her," Hugh explained not noticing Rosa standing there in shock, "I am after Team Plasma because of what they did," Hugh pointed out as he walked ahead as he brushed pass the young brunette standing there.

Rosa turned around in shock as the rookie trainer ran towards the table of prepared food, "Ash what's going on?" Rosa asked with a frown, she turned around to see Ash standing and looking up to the bright blue sky, "all I heard was Hugh's sister had her pokemon stolen from her," Rosa stated as she looked over her shoulder to see Hugh taking a seat, "I always take things for granted, I lived a life that's always positive, enjoying every moment living with no regrets," Rosa pointed out as the trainer looked down and smiled at her.

"That's great Rosa," Ash replied as he walked pass the younger trainer, "I have a favor to ask of you Rosa," Ash said while looking over his shoulder, "I think you should try to be friends with Hugh, you with have contrasting personalities," Ash said with laughter before heading off to the table.

Rosa stood there and thought about what Ash had requested, she turned around slowly and started walking to the table, a gentle breeze blew pass the young trainer as she walked through the green fields, "but Hugh is such a jerk, he didn't even apologize for wrecking my bike," Rosa told herself as she looked over to her destroyed bike, she finally made it to the table and grabbed a plate of food, she sat on the grass and started to eat her food.

"Sit at the table with us," Dawn said while watching the brunette eating her food.

"I prefer to sit on the grass Dawn, I want to watch the world pass me by while I eat," Rosa replied with a smile as she ate more of her food, "you know Dawn, this food is really good," Rosa complimented her idol.

"Thanks Rosa, Ash's mother taught me everything while I was waiting for him to return," Dawn explained while picking up more food from a salad bowl, "I needed to find something to pass the time while waiting for Ash, so I asked her to teach me how to cook," Dawn said while Ash sat there in shock while listening to Dawn, "also I had Brock teach me a fair bit when he visited, he was sort of hoping that you had returned since he was upset about the fact that you disappeared for two years," Dawn told Ash as the group finished their food.

"Why did you disappear Ash?" Hugh asked quietly as he picked up his plate and placed it in a container of water, "I thought you were more positive than that," Hugh said with a sly smirk.

Ash looked at the ground and closed his eyes for a moment, "I lost an important battle, so I left for some soul searching, when I returned to Pallet Town I didn't know two years had pass," Ash explained as he picked himself while Rosa stood up and looked over to her new friends, "when I returned to Pallet, Dawn was there waiting for me," Ash said while picking up his plate and walking to the washing container, "Dawn didn't know that I felt guilty for the last two years, she had suffered so much because of what I did and I didn't know that I did that to her," Ash pointed out with a frown as he gazed over to Dawn.

"Yeah, but you still returned Ash," Dawn retorted as she packed up the remaining plates, "I wasn't worried about you since I knew you would come back to where you belong," Dawn said with a bright smile as the brunette listened with intent, "with me," Dawn finished while Ash grabbed some medicine for Hugh.

Rosa walked up to the bluenette with a smirk while holding the last empty plate of food, "Dawn, why is your bond with Ash so strong?" Rosa asked the blue haired teen standing in front of her, "I understand you love each other, but your bond is so much stronger than what I see in front of me," Rosa said while watching the trainer taking care of Hugh's pokemon.

"Because we are both similar people, we're both determined to chase after our dreams," Dawn replied happily as she pulled out a ribbon holder, "back in Sinnoh all my choices were easy, win contests and do my best in the grand festival to win it, but like Ash, I came up short of victory," Dawn explained as she picked up her backpack and walked over to Ash who had just finished the treatment of Hugh's pokemon.

Dawn placed her hand on the trainers shoulder and while watching Hugh practicing with Oshawott, "it seems Hugh is too focused, I see a lot of myself in him," Ash said while placing his hand on Dawn's. After finishing with taking care of Hugh's Lilipup he walked over to Hugh and handed over Lilipup with a smile, "you know Hugh as a trainer, you have a lot of potential," Ash said with a smile as the rookie ignored Ash and walked towards a hill and sat down, 'geez, he needs to be more positive,' Ash thought while gazing over his shoulder to see Dawn talking to Rosa about her contests, "great, it seems like Dawn and Rosa have become good friends already," Ash told himself while Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder to look at the vast surrounds of the route.

Hugh sat down to stare at the setting sun, he heard footsteps approaching his location, he looked up and started to think about the days before his sisters birthday, "you know Ash, I want to become stronger to make my sister happy again, I said I would never smile again until I get her Purrloin back," Hugh stated while grabbing blades of grass before throwing them into the air, the wind whirled the bits of grass around as the two trainers watched, "it has been five years since that day, we only wanted to play with our pokemon," Hugh pointed out while punching the ground.

"They attacked out of nowhere and then stole your sisters pokemon," Ash replied as the teen looked on in shock, "I know because I can read aura, so reading what's on your mind was simple," Ash said while grinning at the rookie, "I found this ability to be useful, I rarely use it," Ash said happily as he gazed over his shoulder, he looked back towards the rookie trainer and sat down, "you need to realize, that bad things can and will happen, but eventually they are made right by the choices we make," Ash told Hugh wisely while his Pikachu started to play with Hugh's Oshawott, "you see Pikachu and Oshawott are friends already," Ash pointed to the two pokemon happily.

"Ash, we only have a few hours before night time," Dawn said as she started walking off towards the next town.

Hugh stood up and looked at the horizon, "the next town is about an hour away, we will get there before the night time fully sets in," Hugh said as he followed the two girls with Ash close behind. The two guys caught up to the girls and took their backpacks, Hugh recalled his pokemon and quietly followed Ash, "Ash, I will only compete against the gym leaders once I defeat Team Plasma, that is where I will need everyone's help," Hugh said calmly.

Pikachu jumped back on his masters shoulder before the trainer started to follow his friends, "you know buddy, I am lucky to have Dawn, I still can't believe how much she has grown as a person," Ash said while looked at Dawn without her noticing, "I mean when we last travelled with her she had no idea how to cook, but now she is cooking awesome meals," Ash said quietly while staying behind the rest of group, he slowly caught up not taking his eyes off Dawn, "I wonder what else she learnt while I was away," Ash wondered while his partner pokemon shrugged his shoulder.

Dawn looked back to finally see Ash talking to his Pikachu, "Ash, hurry up or we will leave you behind," Dawn berated Ash while Rosa started to laugh at the trainer.

Ash chuckled slightly and ran up to the rest of the group, "hey Rosa, you never said what your dream was," Ash said as he turned his gaze to the brunette.

Rosa smiled and pulled out a brochure, "I want to become an actress with the pokemon I capture, I also have an interest in Pokemon Contests, so trying different things is why I am travelling," Rosa replied while looking up to the darkening sky as the stars started to fill the night sky in every direction, "I saw your defeat Ash on TV two years ago, I can tell you want the rematch against the trainer that defeated you," Rosa said happily while Hugh listened in shock to find that Ash was defeated by another trainer.

"You watched all my league battles?" Ash asked the you girl who nodded happily.

"Yeah and I also watched all of Dawn's contests and Grand Festivals," Rosa said while turning around, "never really thought I would be watching them in person," Rosa said with great excitement while jumping for joy, "I get to travel with my idols!" Rosa yelled out happily while Dawn walked over to Ash.

Ash and Dawn stood next to each other as Rosa happily, "never thought we would have fans all the way in Unova," Dawn said with a smile while her boyfriend nodded, "she's great, she wants to follow many roads towards her own goal, experience everything that life has to offer," Dawn said positively as she watched the two rookies walking ahead.

"The good thing is they can show us around this region," Ash said while watching the moon rising from the opposite direction. The two started walking to Floccesy Town while the pokemon were flying away towards their homes.

"Well if it isn't some new trainers," said a man with long red and orange hair wearing mostly white, standing on top of a cliff face, "welcome to Floccesy Town," he said with a smile while preparing to jump down off the cliff face. The large man jumped off the cliff and landed in front of the four trainers, "such a young group of friends," Alder said while looking around to see Ash standing with a determined look, "you remind me of me in my younger days," Alder said happily as he placed his right hand on the trainers left shoulder, "how about tomorrow we have a quick battle?" he asked quietly before walking to his home.

Ash shrugged his shoulders and thought about the request from the trainer, "a battle against me, I sense he is a strong foe," Ash said with a smile while looking over to his Pikachu.

"Another battle for you Ash," Dawn stated with an optimistic look in her eyes, the optimistic look was soon filled with envy as the reality set in for Dawn, she still didn't have a goal to strive for in the Unova region, she turned her gaze to Rosa who was ready to start fulfilling her dream before turning her gaze to Hugh, 'even he has a goal,' Dawn thought as she looked back to Ash, with his fists clenched he excitedly yelled out for the world to hear about his battle against the strange man, Dawn looked down at her small blue pokemon with a worried smile, 'when will I find what my goals will be? I was always so certain,' Dawn wondered while looking at the ground.

Ash walked up to the bluenette and lifted her head, "hey where is your confidence?" Ash asked the female with a smirk, "I know what the problem is, you have no defined goal in the Unova region," Ash said quietly as he placed his hands on both of Dawn's shoulder, "I will help you find your goal in this region," Ash declared while hugging the bluenette.

"No need to worry Ash, I will find my goal without your help," Dawn said as she pushed herself back and gazed into the trainers eyes sanguinely, "plus, I need to find out what I want to do in this region myself, I learnt while you were away for two years not to cry when I didn't get my way," Dawn explained while walking towards her new friends, 'I learnt not to rely on you for everything,' Dawn thought while looking over to Ash as he smiled at her.

"She hasn't only just gained amazing skills, she has also grown as a person," Ash told himself as he walked towards the rest of the group.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, will Ash defeat Alder? What new pokemon will Dawn and Rosa capture on their journey?**

**The answers in the next chapter of Almost Easy.**

**Next time Chapter 6: Team Plasma returns.**


	6. Team Plasma Returns

**Chapter 6: Team Plasma Returns.**

_Time for another battle, this time between Ash and Alder._

* * *

It was a warm day in the small rural town with the wind blowing through the narrow streets and a few clouds moved across the morning sky. Standing outside the Pokemon Center was Ash who was looking up to the bright blue sky thinking about the upcoming battle between the mysterious person, he walked up to the cliff and looked out to the road he went through with his new friends and Dawn, "I was kind of hoping to travel with Dawn only," Ash told Pikachu with a faint smile, he put his hands on the rail in front of him as the gentle breeze blew through the trees and towards the trainer, "I wonder who that guy was," Ash told himself while looking up to the sky to see small flying type pokemon peacefully flying across the bright blue sky.

Ash turned around to see Dawn walking out of the medical facility with her new friend Rosa, "Dawn, do you know where Hugh is?" the brunette asked quietly as she looked around to find the rookie trainer. The two girls looked around the small town until they spotted the stranger from the day, "excuse me sir have you seen a boy with spikey blue hair?" Rosa asked the man loudly.

"Yes, he is at my place training the little kids getting ready for their own journeys," he said while walking up to Ash, "I forgot to introduce myself yesterday, my name is Alder the previous champion of this region," the red and orange haired man while extending his hand out to the trainer.

Ash extended his hand and smiled at the ex-champion, "my name is Ash Ketchum," Ash introduced himself while shaking hands with the large man, "I am here to challenge the Unova League," Ash stated while moving his hand back.

Dawn walked up with a bright smile, "I am Dawn from the SInnoh Region," the bluenette introduced herself politely while the brunette standing behind her walked up nervously, "come on introduce yourself," Dawn told the girl with a smirk.

"My name is Rosa from Aspertia City," Rosa finished the introductions.

Alder grinned at the trainer as he turned around, "another person to challenge the Unova league," he said causing the trainer and his friends to gasp in shock, "yes a man with long dark blue hair, wearing mostly maroon and blue jeans challenge me to a battle and won easily," Alder said with slight disdain.

Ash stood their clenching his fists knowing that he was behind Tobias, "he used Darkrai didn't he?" Ash asked the former champion with a frown, "how far am I behind?" he asked in frustration while Dawn placed her hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"He passed through here about four days ago," Alder said while the trainer looked down at his pokemon with shame, "but there is no need to rush, why not have a simple battle against me, then listen to my story," Alder told the trainer calmly. The group walk through the small but busy town looking around with the guidance of Alder, "you see Hugh came to my place to train his pokemon, he was also lecturing the kids to take care of their pokemon and be friends with them," Alder explained while the group continued to follow the former champion, "I can tell he had a hard time when he was younger, I mean I lost my partner pokemon due to illness years ago, they made me champion to pick me up, but now there is a sweet young girl by the name of Iris who has taken the mantle of the Unova Champion," Alder finished while walking up to a building with a red roof, "here it is, my sweet little home," Alder said with a smirk.

Ash walked into the building followed by Dawn and Rosa, "wow Alder this place is nice," Ash said warmly as his partner pokemon jumped off his shoulder to look around, soon after the yellow pokemon landed on the ground Dawn's pokeball opened up with Buneary landing next to Pikachu, "Buneary has never done that before," Ash said while laughing at his partner pokemon. The trainer knelt down to talk to the brown pokemon, "Buneary, I would like to use Pikachu for my battle," Ash said before being hit with Dizzy Punch from the pokemon.

Everyone around the trainer started laughing at him as he tried to pick himself up after the attack, Dawn stopped laughing as she looked over to her pokemon embracing Pikachu, "Ash, why not choose a different pokemon?" Dawn asked the trainer while trying to hold back her laughter.

"No way, I want to battle with Pikachu," Ash replied to Dawn stubbornly as his partner pokemon tried to break free from Buneary's crushing hugs.

Alder watched the sweet scene between the two pokemon, "so you two love eachother," Alder enquired causing Ash and Dawn to look at one another while blushing slightly, "no need to respond, it's written all over your face," Alder pointed out as he walked outside to get ready for the battle, "I will be waiting for you Ash," Alder called out to Ash.

Ash ran outside as quickly as possible with his partner pokemon, "Pikachu, I choose you," Ash called for the electric mouse pokemon, the small pokemon leapt onto the battlefield with sparks flying from his cheeks determined to face whatever Alder was going to bring out.

"Ash after this battle there is something I would like to tell you," Alder decreed as he grabbed one of his pokeballs ready to battle the trainer, "Bouffalant, time to battle," Alder called out a large brown pokemon with a set of large horns and a black afro, "are you ready Ash?" the former champion asked with a smile, "start this battle with Head Charge," Alder commanded quickly, the bash buffalo pokemon lowered his head and charged towards the smaller pokemon.

Ash noticed the great power behind the attack as the smaller pokemon waited for the command, "dodge it now Pikachu," Ash instructed his pokemon with vigor. The smaller pokemon used his superior agility to dodge the incoming attack and awaited his trainer next command, "alright buddy attack with Thunderbolt," the trainer ordered his pokemon with certainty, the small electric type pokemon charged up a yellow aura before unleashing an merciless attack on the opposing pokemon.

"Dodge it with Head Charge," Alder told his pokemon with assurance, the normal type charged away from the attack and eventually towards the origin of the attack.

"No time to get out of there," Ash told himself in panic, "Pikachu attack with Volt Tackle," Ash told his pokemon quickly. The electric type charged towards the bash buffalo pokemon with a reckless attack of his own.

The two pokemon slammed into one another with their respective attack dealing immense damage to eachother knocking one another back towards their trainers, "wow this kid is good, makes me want to journey again," Alder told himself with increasing confidence, "alright attack with Megahorn," Alder instructed his tiring pokemon.

"Attack with Iron Tail," Ash called for the next attack of the battle, his panting pokemon jumped up into the air with a stiff metallic tail, the normal type pokemon charged with glowing white horns, the two pokemon hit eachother again this time they both fell to the ground because of the impact of the attack, "Pikachu!" Ash called out in shock as his pokemon tried to get up but was too exhausted to pick himself up but to no avail.

Alder tried to cheer his pokemon on but he took too much damage from the ferocious attacks of the quick battle, "wow didn't expect that, a draw," Alder said with a smile as he recalled his pokemon from the battle, "not bad young man, maybe we can have a rematch at a later date," Alder told Ash before walking into the building.

Ash picked up his Pikachu proudly and followed the former champion, "too bad on the draw Ash, I thought you had him," Dawn said with pride as she stood next to Ash.

Rosa and Hugh were busy battling with their own pokemon to notice that Ash had returned from the battle, "well at least they are practicing," Ash said with a smile while looking over to the older man respectfully, "Alder, didn't you have something to tell me?" Ash enquired as he walked up to the former champion with Dawn following close behind. Buneary tended to Pikachu who was still hurt from the battle.

"Alright, Tobias told me a bit about a trainer with a powerful Pikachu, he instructed me to tell you about the three legendary pokemon that made this region," Alder replied with a smile as he picked up a book from his personal library, "there are three powerful dragons of this region," Alder remarked as he showed Ash the pictures of the pokemon, "the white one is the pokemon of truth Reshiram, the black one is the pokemon of Ideals Zekrom and the grey one is the boundary pokemon Kyurem, each of them are very powerful pokemon in their own right," Alder explained as he closed the book and placed it back on the book shelf, he turned around to look over to Ash who was listening with great intent, "hundreds of years ago there was a war between brothers, each of them had their own beliefs, it was believed that a single pokemon split up to take the side of the brother they thought was right, in the end it was revealed that neither of them were right," Alder stated with slight disdain while sitting with a cup of tea.

"So what does Kyurem have to do with it?" Dawn asked the man quietly as she handed Ash some food.

Alder picked up another book and opened it, "legend has it, Kyurem was a complete pokemon, it is believed to be the shell of what remained when the single pokemon split up, it constantly searches for a worthy trainer and hasn't found that trainer," Alder replied to Dawn with a smile, "some say this pokemon is evil, they believe it eats people and pokemon," Alder stated causing Ash and Dawn to shiver in unison.

Ash stood up and clenched his fist in confidence, "I was given a challenge by Tobias to capture a legendary pokemon, either one of those would make a great edition to my team," Ash stated with a confident grin.

Alder settled the trainer down for a moment, "well, they would make a great edition to your team, but these pokemon choose their trainers, not the trainer choosing them," Alder told the excited trainer, "there are two other sets of legendary pokemon, but I think it would be good for you to find the other legends of Unova on your own," Alder told the trainer with a smile. Suddenly a person burst into the house panting with fear etched on his eyes, "hey what's going on?" Alder asked the man in assurance.

"Three people have attack the Floccesy Ranch wanting to free the pokemon there," the man retorted in sadness, "they claim to be from Team Plasma," he stated before Hugh jumped pass the man and ran out of the building in anger, "what's with him?" he asked in shock while the three other trainers walked up to him quietly.

"Don't mind him, he has a hatred for Team Plasma," Ash answered with a smile as he walked out of the building, Dawn and Rosa followed quickly while Buneary stayed behind to look after Pikachu, "excuse me sir can you lead us to your ranch?" Ash asked the person calmly, he pointed towards the exit of the town while trying to keep his nerves in check, "come you two we need to get to Hugh before he does something stupid," Ash declared while following the man out of the town.

"Ash, I am a little worried about Hugh's reaction, he rushed to find these people from Team Plasma," Dawn said with great worry, she spotted a man dressed mostly in black and grey uniform running towards the ranch, "Ash, look over there," Dawn pointed to the man running away from them, "I believe he might be reinforcements because of Hugh charging in like a fool," Dawn explained as the group followed quietly.

"We need to keep quiet, Hugh might be in danger," Rosa said while moving towards one of the trees, "I will see up ahead to find out how many of them there are," Rosa said while looking back at her friends with a grin. The brunette climbed up the tree and jumped from limp to limp to catch a view of what was going on at the ranch, 'odd the place seems quiet, where is Hugh? And where are the members of Team Plasma?' Rosa thought as she looked down towards the farm with curiosity, "unless," Rosa wondered as she turned around quickly to get back to Ash and Dawn.

Ash spotted Rosa returning with a serious expression on her face, "Dawn, seems like Rosa found Hugh," Ash pointed over to the young girl approaching from the distance.

Rosa landed in front of the trio and glared at the farmer, "alright you what are you planning?" she asked the farmer as she turned around to see Hugh approaching the group, "tell us, did you lead us away from Alder?" Rosa asked the farmer who started laughing at the group.

"Clever little girl, you see he had information we wanted, so we led you away from him to prevent any real problems," he retorted as he changed back to his normal attire, looking like the rest of the members of his force, he laughed at the group and called out a mostly purple pokemon to battle them, "two years ago, we were beaten by a young boy and girl, both of them extremely good trainers," he smirked as his pokemon began to kick back dirt and got ready to charge towards the four trainers, "they beat our king, but his father used him because he was a monster, now he is soul searching to find out who he really is," the plasma explained the history of Team Plasma to the group as the pokemon ran towards the group.

Hugh pulled Rosa out of the way to prevent her from getting trampled by the large purple pokemon, "Ash and Dawn go back to Alder's place," Hugh instructed the more experienced trainer before glaring at the plasma grunt and his pokemon, "Rosa, you and I will team up to take on this Scholipede," Hugh stated while pulling out one of his pokeballs, "Oshawott, time to unleash your rage," Hugh called out for his water type pokemon with great confidence.

"Snivy, take center stage," Rosa called out her pokemon ready to battle the powerful pokemon.

Ash and Dawn ran back to the town with concern etched on their faces, "Ash, are you sure that Rosa and Hugh can battle that pokemon on their own?" Dawn asked with a heavy feeling. The two trainers continued to run back to the house when they spotted a member of Team Plasma, Dawn pointed to the woman who had a large blue pokemon with four legs and intimidating red eyes, "Ash, that's a Metagross."

"Yeah I know," Ash said while crossing his arms and waiting for the chance to attack the foe, "Dawn, are you ready to team up like the old days?"

Dawn nodded with a smirk and picked up a red and white orb, "Piplup, Spotlight," Dawn called out a small penguin like pokemon.

"Garchomp, I choose you," Ash called out his pokemon with great confidence, "use Earthquake," he told the pokemon with certainty, the powerful dragon type pokemon stomped his feet on the ground sending out a powerful shockwave towards the steel type pokemon.

Dawn watched for a moment as the shockwave slammed into the iron leg pokemon with ferocious power, "now hit it with Hydro Pump," Dawn called for the next attack, the small pokemon jumped up and formed a powerful stream of water at the end of his beak before sending out the devastating blast of water towards the steal type pokemon.

Metagross fell back as the Plasma grunt turned around to see Ash and Dawn standing there angrily crossing their arms while their pokemon stood next to their respective trainers, "I thought we had you lured away," the grunt said with a grimace as her pokemon got up and got ready to attack, "I need assistance now."

"Right ma'am," another plasma grunt ran out of the house and next to his ally, "two of them, you are have trouble with two insignificant trainers?" he asked while shaking his head in shame.

"I am not insignificant, in fact I am quiet the trouble maker," Ash said with a chuckle as his powerful dragon roared out to the powerful foes, Ash pointed over to Dawn with a smirk, "she is also my tag team partner, the best tag team partner in the world, we are rarely beaten in battle," Ash boasted with supreme confidence.

"That's right, we will beat you in this battle," Dawn nodded with equal confidence as her pokemon puffed his chest while standing his ground, "attack with Drill Peck."

"Seviper, let's show them how a real battle is fought," the plasma grunt on the right said while calling out a mostly black serpent like pokemon, "attack with Poison Tail," he ordered his pokemon with great confidence, the fang snake pokemon spun around and jabbed its tail at the incoming attack, Piplup dodged the attack and hit the opposing pokemon with an accurate Drill Peck dealing significant damage to the snake like pokemon, "she is good," the plasma stated in frustration as his Seviper fell back after taking a powerful hit from the proud pokemon.

Ash watched with pride as the small penguin jumped back into his original position, 'amazing, Dawn has improved over the last couple of years, Piplup has even learnt a new attack,' Ash thought while looking up at Dawn impressed at how she was handling the battle against such powerful foes, "Garchomp, attack with Dragon Rush," the trainer instructed his pokemon.

The plasma grunt watched as her Metagross froze on the spot as the large dragon charged towards it, "Metagross get out of the way," she instructed with panic etched in her eyes. She gasped in shock as the dragon slammed down upon the iron leg pokemon causing it to take a few steps back after being hit, "how is this trainer so strong?" she asked herself in frustration while watching her pokemon struggle back to the battlefield, "dragon type attack's don't usually do that much damage, but this is crazy," she said in shock while watching the large blue pokemon stand next to his trainer.

"Just give it up, we're too strong for you to battle against," Ash said while shrugging his shoulders, he smiled at the sweet bluenette who was getting ready to attack once again, he returned his dragon type pokemon and got ready to call out another pokemon to take the land sharks place in the battle, "Lucario, I choose you," Ash called out the aura pokemon to take part in the battle, "time to show of some double team moves," Ash said brimming with confidence while Dawn nodded in approval.

"Alright Piplup, attack with Hydro Pump," Dawn instructed her pokemon to attack.

Ash smirked as the blue and black pokemon charged up an Aura Sphere, "fire it into the Hydro Pump!" Ash yelled out before Lucario sent the blue sphere into the powerful stream of water. The ball of aura converged with the water attack causing it to glow a bright blue as the plasma grunts watched in shock as the double teaming attack devastated their team, "this battle is over," Ash said calmly as he raised his hand.

Dawn raised her hand and gave Ash a high five, "it's been a while since we have done that," Dawn said with a bright smile, the team mates lowered their arms and glared back to the plasma grunts, "now, what are you going to do?" Dawn asked the plasma grunts as they recalled their pokemon.

The plasma grunts looked back to see a man with blonde hair and a blue strip of hair extending from his forehead on the left side to the right eye, he was wearing a white lab coat, with a black pair of pants, shoes and shirt underneath the coat, "I was wondering what the ruckus was," he said while two pokemon hovered next to him, one of them looked like a group of gears while the other was the familiar Magnazone, "I was trying to gather information from our dear friend in this place," he said calmly as he looked over to Ash and Dawn, "you two seem familiar, almost like the two people that stopped us two years ago, but you two are very different, my name is Colress, the head scientist of Team Plasma," the man introduced himself to Ash and Dawn before leaving with the plasma grunts.

Ash and Dawn glared at the leaving plasma group to see to Alder and the kids, "Ash and Dawn, your pokemon are fine I made sure they were safe," Alder said with a smile as the two pokemon jumped into the arms of their respective trainers, "they were after a special item that was left to me two years ago by two people, when I first met you two I automatically thought that you were just like them," Alder said while scratching the back of his head, "I mean you're just like them," Alder stated while laughing at himself.

Ash and Dawn walked up to the photo of two people in the picture, they were dressed just like them except they both had brown hair, "are these the people you are talking about Alder?" Dawn asked curiously, she looked back to see Rosa and Hugh walking back in the building.

"Yes Dawn, their names are Hilbert and Hilda, much like you two they are in love with one another," Alder retorted as he sat on a seat to have a cup of tea, "after saving the Unova region the handed me a special item, one that contains the power of a legend," Alder explained calmly as looked out the window, he sat there in thought keeping quiet not moving an inch.

"How about we look after the item for you?" Ash proposed calmly.

Alder looked back and shook his head, "sorry I left it in a secret spot, if you want to look after it, you will need to find it before Team Plasma does," Alder said with a frown, he picked up a small sheet of paper and guided it across the table, "here you will need to take this map, it has a secret code that you will need to get to the item," Alder stated while standing up to walk out of the building.

"Ash, our pokemon had a lot of trouble facing off against the Scolipede, we are going to continue to travel with you so we can become stronger, we both believe we can become stronger under you and Dawn," Hugh said while walking up to Ash and Dawn who were too busy looking at the piece of paper.

Ash looked back at the picture and smiled, he grabbed the photo and placed it in his bag, "maybe one day we can meet Hilda and Hilbert," Ash said with a smile while looking over to Dawn.

"I hope so too Ash," Dawn remarked quietly as the two turned around to see her new friends standing there waiting for them to walk out with them, "alright time to go."

The group walked out of the house and noticed how much of the day had passed, it was around lunch time and a nice breeze was blowing though the now quiet streets of the town as the heat of the sun beat down from above.

_Outside Floccesy Town_

"Master Ghetsis, we weren't able to find the Dark Stone," Colress told his boss calmly while the grunts stood guard outside the cave, "but I have met some intriguing people, they are very similar to the people that defeated us two years ago," he said while placing his left hand on his chin.

"Matters not, our next mission is to find the dark stone to lure N back to this region, then we can focus on the next part of the plan," the man with long green hair said with a smirk.

"Yes sir," Colress saluted his boss before shutting off the call. He turned around to see the group he had met in Flocessy Town and smirked at them, "members of Team Plasma, keep our distance, I have a feeling they will help us find Zekrom," Colress said while laughing at the group walking by quietly.

"Yes sir!" the Plasma grunts saluted in unison before leaving the area to watch the trainers walking towards Virbank City.

* * *

**Team Plasma has revealed itself and has the legendary pokemon in their sights. Will Ash and Dawn find the Dark Stone before Team Plasma? What new pokemon will Dawn and Rosa capture in the next city?**

**Next time Chapter 7: The Cheer Squad VS the Rock Band**

**Sorry this one took a little longer, I wasn't well and there was this nasty heatwave so I couldn't write as fast as I wanted to. Then there was the fact i was typing a story for Ash and Salvia which I am enjoying as much as this one**


	7. The Cheer Squad VS The Rock Band

**Chapter 7: The Cheer Squad VS the Rock Band.**

_Alright I am back after the New Year feeling a little more refreshed, Time to get this story back on the road with a gym battle in Virbank City._

* * *

Ash walked around the city looking around to find canals writhing through the city and the people looking around the streets with their pokemon, this time he was alone to think about the next battle he had to face, the gym leader of Virbank City, "the girls left in a hurry and Hugh went out for some training, this gives me the chance to come up with a plan to beat the gym leader," Ash told himself while walking though the city. He thought about the battle against Team Plasma and a scientist in Flocessy Town and the mystery of the puzzle that was left for him, "I have to search for a dragon, but I have no idea where to start," Ash told himself as he pulled out the map with the code on the map.

With Pikachu following him Ash walked back towards the Pokemon Center to see how the check-up of his pokemon were going, "Ash, your team is in good health," said a woman with pink hair wearing a nurses outfit, he picked up his pokemon and looked around to see if Dawn and the rest of the group was around.

Ash walked outside with his partner pokemon while pulling out a map, Ash looked at the paper before turning it around, "what could this mean?" Ash asked himself as he folded the paper and placed it back in his pocket, "after this city we need to get a boat to the next one," Ash stated with a smile as he walked through the city and towards the harbor, "wonder what the others are up to," Ash wondered while his Pikachu jumped on his shoulder.

Meanwhile at the south end of the City Dawn and Rosa were out in the complex of the city looking for a pokemon to capture each, "hey Dawn, you know Ash will be having a battle soon, I really want to see how my idol will battle," Rosa said while trying to rush the more experienced trainer. While walking through the complex a yellow and black pokemon appeared in front of the dup ready to fight, "an Elekid, I want to capture it!" Rosa yelled out as she threw a pokeball at the electric pokemon with confidence.

Dawn gasped at the actions of the less experienced trainer, "Rosa, you need to weaken the pokemon before you can think of capturing it," Dawn said while witnessing the wild pokemon breaking out of the pokeball much to the shock of the brunette, Dawn looked around to see if she could find a pokemon to capture to show Rosa how it needed to be done, "ah a Magby," Dawn pointed over to the fire type pokemon with a bright grin, "Rosa you should watch what I do, first call out a pokemon," Dawn stated while calling out her water type pokemon with confidence, "look at the target pokemon and battle it," Dawn instructed the girl as she stood next to her, "Piplup attack Magby with Whirlpool."

The little penguin pokemon formed a large pool of water from his beak and threw it at the fire type pokemon, the attack dealt a significant amount of damage while it tried to break free from the attack but to no avail, "wow Dawn is really strong," Rosa said while gawking at the spectacle of the attack. "Right, so I have to choose Snivy to battle Elekid," Rosa said while calling out her starter pokemon as she gazed towards the opposing pokemon, "Snivy, attack with Leaf Blade," Rosa ordered her pokemon with certainty. The grass type jumped up with her tail glowing green before she slashed down on the electric type pokemon causing the opposing combatant to fall back from the force of the attack.

"Alright time to attack once again to weaken them further, Piplup attack with Hydro Pump," Dawn commanded calmly, the water type pokemon powered up and fired a powerful burst of water at the fire type pokemon causing to faint from the power of the attack, Dawn pulled out a pokeball and threw it at the knocked out fire type, "now you try Rosa," Dawn said while watching her pokeball wobble from side to side until it signified the capture of the new pokemon for Dawn's team.

Rosa looked over to her grass type pokemon and nodded, "alright time to show them what we can do," Rosa declared as she smirked at the pokemon, "Snivy, attack with Leaf Tornado," Rosa called out quickly. The grass type leapt up and became surrounded with a vortex of leaves before slamming it down on the on the electric pokemon injuring it from the force of the attack, "alright, go pokeball," Rosa called out as she threw a red and white device at the tired pokemon, the device wobbled from side to side until the pokeball chimed to make the capture official, "alright I caught my first pokemon," Rosa celebrated in great joy.

"Nicely done Rosa," Dawn complimented as she picked up her pokeball with her new pokemon, "well we better head back, Ash should be getting ready to battle the gym leader soon," Dawn pointed out as she turned around to run towards the city, "I need to get ready to cheer Ash on for his battle," Dawn said as she hurried back to the city leaving Rosa to think about her capture.

Rosa followed Dawn to find out what she was talking about, she had never seen her idol battle in person so this was the chance she was waiting for, she left the complex not noticing a large green pokemon watching her from behind, "Dawn wait for me!" Rosa yelled out while running as the large four legged pokemon looked towards the sky before running off into the distance.

'Interesting those two trainers have something special about them,' the large green pokemon said to itself while running away, 'I better tell Cobalion,' it said with a smile.

While Dawn and Rosa were busy capturing pokemon, Hugh was sitting at the dock with a picture of his younger sister with her dark type pokemon, 'if only I was stronger, I wouldn't have let those monsters take your pokemon,' Hugh thought while punching the dock.

Watching the young man hitting the dock while her pokemon hovered next to her, "You know my next challenger is waiting for me," the young lady said with a smile as she approached him. "Hey have you seen the captain of that boat?" she asked while pointing to the white vessel.

"No I haven't, I have been busy thinking about the past," Hugh replied as the girl with white hair smirked at him. Hugh stood up and walked pass the gym leader with the picture in his right hand, "Team Plasma is the cause of my sister's tears," Hugh pointed out before leaving the docks to meet up with his friends, 'I promise to get Purrloin back,' Hugh thought while placing the photo back in his pocket.

Hugh walked through the city to finally meet up with Ash who had been waiting in front of the gym for it to open, still waiting for the girls to show up for the gym battle, "Hugh, you're here before the girls," Ash said with a smile while looking around to see if the girls were approaching, "even the gym leader is late," Ash said with slight disappointment. Ash found a seat and sat down while waiting for the people to appear, "so how do you intend to get your revenge on Team Plasma?" Ash asked the male with spiky blue hair, "I am not sure if it is the right thing to do, but you have set your mind on getting your sister's pokemon back," Ash said calmly while Hugh looked up to the blue sky as dark clouds approached the city.

"Maybe that is because Ash you wouldn't understand, my sister got hurt because of them, I was too weak to stop them because I was only a child back then," Hugh relied to Ash's question while clenching his fists, "who attacks little kids who have no experience in pokemon battles?" Hugh asked the trainer in anger as the two girls approached Ash and Hugh both wearing a cheerleaders outfit each, "oh great now we have two cheerleaders," Hugh said with disdain and looking away with his head in his hands.

"Ash, I caught a new pokemon and so did Rosa," Dawn said in a cheery disposition.

"Really? That's awesome," Ash retorted while looking around for the gym leader.

A female with white hair showed up holding a bass guitar and a purple pokemon hovering next to her, "ah, it seems like you have been patient, my name is Roxie the gym leader of Virbank City," the woman said with a smile as she walked up to the gym, "sorry for being a little late, I was busy talking to my dad," Roxie said while opening the door to the gym. The five people walked into the gym while the sounds of musicians practicing their music were heard from the main foyer, "in this gym, I allow people to compete with a full six pokemon team while I compete with three pokemon," Roxie explained causing Ash to smile.

"I will battle you with three pokemon, six would just be overkill," Ash replied calmly much to the shock of the gym leader, "Pikachu, you will not be battling this time," Ash told his partner pokemon while looking at his new pokeball, "I will be using a newly caught pokemon," Ash decreed much to the shock of everyone around him, "I am so confident how about we make it a best two out of three?" Ash remarked as Roxie nodded in approval.

"Seems like you are a strong trainer," Roxie said while the group walked down the final lot of steps towards the next door. "Well this is it, the stage where we will do battle," Roxie said as she opened the door showing the stage with a rock band on it.

Dawn and Rosa looked at each other and grinned, "it seems like we will be cheering over a rock band," Dawn said happily as she waved her pompoms in the air much to the displeasure of Hugh, "oh come on Hugh, I am sure you want to cheer Ash on as much as me and Rosa," Dawn said while running into the gym with Rosa alongside Pikachu.

"Why am I traveling with this group?" Hugh asked himself while shaking his head in shame, he watched as Ash ran towards his end of the battlefield, "after my travels I am going to challenge every gym leader in each region," Hugh told himself as he walked to another seat to watch his friends battle against Roxie, he stayed far away from the girls knowing that they were going to cheer loudly for Ash, "when I start traveling I will make sure I train my sister to become stronger," Hugh said as he witnessed the gym leader getting ready to battle Ash, 'the reason why I travel with Ash, is because I want to learn from him,' Hugh thought as he watched the two girls starting their cheer, he took his eyes away from the cheering girls and continued to watch the two trainers make their final preparations.

Roxie grabbed one of her pokeballs and called out her first pokemon to battle against the trainer, "go Koffing."

Ash looked at the Kanto native pokemon and smirked at it, he picked up his pokeball and threw it out to call for his first pokemon, "Zorua, I choose you," Ash called out his dark type pokemon calmly.

Dawn and Rosa gasped in shock knowing that the small dark type had little to any experience in battling, "Ash, you need to do better than that," Rosa called out to the trainer who remained calm after hearing the words from the less experienced girl.

"I know what I am doing Rosa, there is no point holding Zorua back, I see potential in this little guy," Ash replied while looking over to the two girls who started to dance in perfect unison, 'I hope I don't get too many cheer leaders,' Ash thought calmly as he turned his gaze back towards the battlefield, "hey Hugh, I hope you enjoy this battle," Ash called out to his friend while keeping his focus on the gym leader.

"The battle between the gym leader Roxie and the challenger Ash Ketchum will now begin," a man with a white shirt and black pants called out while raising both flags in his hands.

"Alright time to start this battle off with Toxic," Roxie called out for the first attack of the battle against Ash.

"Dodge the attack quickly then use Night Slash," Ash instructed his pokemon quickly.

Zorua ran towards the attack dodging the move, then extended its claws before jumping up into the air and getting ready to slash down on the poison type pokemon, "come on Ash you can do it show her what you're made of," Dawn and Rosa cheered as the dark type slashed down on the poison type pokemon with great power causing the poison type to fall back a little from the attack.

"Not bad, but you will have to do better than that if you want to beat me," Roxie told the trainer as the dark type tried to move back to its original position on the battlefield, "Alright attack with Sludge," Roxie commanded quickly. A large ball of sludge was hurled from the poison type mouth hitting the dark type with immense power causing it to become poisoned from the attack, "yes now use Veno Shock," Roxie instructed her pokemon to complete the combination.

Ash gritted his teeth knowing that his pokemon was in a lot of trouble, "quickly, dodge the attack, then use Shadow Ball," Ash told his pokemon. Zorua moved but was still suffering from the effects of the poison, it charged up a ball of shadowy energy, Zorua unleashed the powerful attack before hitting the ground from the power of the poison, "man Zorua is really taking this poison badly," Ash said with concern as the ball of energy barely missed the poison type, 'I know I just caught Zorua, but this seems to be the best time to give it some experience," Ash thought to himself as the band members started to play their music to help inspire Roxie.

"No I will not let them outdo us," Dawn said as she looked over to Rosa.

"Finish it with Veno Shock," Roxie called out for her next attack a large pulse of purple energy flew towards the dark type who was suffering from the effects of poison.

"Zorua, quickly get out the way now," Ash told his pokemon but it was too late the powerful attack smashed into the dark type dealing a significant amount of damage on the dark type pokemon, the illusion pokemon struggled to its feet but soon collapsed onto the ground from the severity of the attack, "come on buddy, you can do this," Ash called to his new pokemon, the dark type tried to get to its feet again but soon fell due to the poison caused by the opposing pokemon.

"Zorua is unable to battle, this round goes to Roxie and her Koffing," the referee declared confidently as the band started playing their music, the two trainers recalled their pokemon with Ash smiling at his pokeball containing the illusion pokemon, "the trainers now must select their next pokemon," the umpire decreed.

"Oh no, this is not good," Rosa panicked while Dawn remained calm.

"Calm down Rosa, Ash isn't using his best pokemon," Dawn replied as she smiled at the trainer, "I have a feeling Roxie is going to find out very soon," Dawn pointed out as she looked over to her confident boyfriend.

"Garbodor, time to rock this show," Roxie called out her second pokemon into the battle.

Ash looked at the massive garbage bag that was standing on Roxie's side of the battlefield, "now it's time to show you what I am capable of," Ash remarked confidently as he picked his next pokeball, "Garchomp, I choose you," Ash called out for his next pokemon, the intimidating pokemon stood at the ready to battle the poison type pokemon, "this pokemon is one of my strongest," Ash explained as Roxie looked at the powerful pokemon gulping at the sight of him glaring at her poison type pokemon.

"Yeah Ash, that it don't hold back," Dawn cheered as Rosa followed Dawn in the cheering.

The two girls cheered louder and louder until their voices got louder than the band, Hugh watched this and cracked a small smile, "I guess they must have a lot of confidence in Ash," Hugh told himself as he looked at the large blue pokemon getting ready to attack.

"Garchomp attack with Dragon Claw," Ash instructed his pokemon over the loud cheers of the girls.

"Garbodor attack with Sludge Bomb," Roxie called out for the counter attack. A large ball of sludge formed in the hand of the poison type but before it could release the attack the large dragon slashed down on the poison type shocking everyone in the area, "no way for such a large pokemon, it moves fast," Roxie said as her pokemon fell back towards her.

The cheers of Dawn and Rosa became more frequent but the band tried to match it but Dawn was making sure she wasn't going to be out done by a rock band, "there is no way I will let this band outdo me," Dawn declared as she cheered even more with the help of Rosa and now with Piplup and Pikachu while Hugh was looking on at the other side of the gym building.

Garbodor staggered back to its footing after taking a powerful blow from the dragon type pokemon, "not bad, his pokemon are super strong," Hugh told himself while watching the dragon get ready to charge in for another attack.

"Alright, Garchomp attack with Shadow Claw," Ash instructed his pokemon while not giving the opposing pokemon a chance to rest.

Roxie looked on in shock as the large dragon slashed down with a large shadowy claw but was barely stopped by the poison types arm, but the other claw slashed down on the poison type dealing immense damage to the poison type pokemon causing it to fall back from the power of the attack, "what power, he has trained this one exceptionally well," Roxie stated while her pokemon struggled to get back up after taking the devastating hit from the dragon type pokemon, "seemed like he had Zorua experienced its first battle but this one is on a whole other level," Roxie said as the umpire declared the dragon type pokemon the victor of the second round of the battle.

The girls cheered loudly as Roxie's band looked on in amazement, "come on Ash, one more round," Dawn and Rosa cheered loudly while the trainer recalled his pokemon.

Roxie recalled her pokemon with a proud grin, "he is strong, not one of my pokemon's hits landed," Roxie said as she pulled out her next pokeball to get ready to face Ash, "Scolipede, time to rock the battle," Roxie called out a large purple pokemon to battle Ash.

Ash smirked confidently as he pulled out his pokeball to prepare for the next round, "Lucario, I choose you," Ash called out his aura pokemon to the battlefield.

Roxie stared in shock as the fighting type got ready to face off against the poinson type pokemon, "this isn't good, Scolipede is a poison type and Lucario is a steel type," Roxie told herself as the aura pokemon glared at the foe.

"Let the battle begin," the umpire declared while crossing the flags.

"Use Steamroller," Roxie called out for her attack. The poison type rolled towards the steel type with incredible force but it stood still waiting for the attack to come.

"Lucario, attack with Bone Rush," the trainer instructed his pokemon. A large bone formed in the hands of the aura pokemon as it charged towards the poison type pokemon. Lucario swung the bone hitting the poison type with amazing power pushing it back even with the powerful attack, "now hit it with Aura sphere," Ash instructed the pokemon with confidence.

"Scolipede quickly dodge the attack then use Roll Out," Roxie ordered her pokemon, the poison type did everything to dodge the attack but wasn't successful, she watched as her megapede pokemon hit the ground again from the force of the sphere, "wow, it isn't even an effective attack and yet it still did an amazing amount of damage, no wonder why Cheren praised this one," Roxie said to herself as she watched her pokemon get up slowly, "this guy is very close to the strength of Tobias," Roxie stated as she watched her pokemon finally stand up.

"Wow, your Scolipede is strong," Ash commented as he got ready to call for the next attack. "Lucario, attack with Dark Pulse," Ash commanded with eagerness, the aura pokemon sent out a dark wave of energy from its palms towards the bug type pokemon. In an instant the poison type was hit with the powerful attack knocking it out of the battle.

Suddenly the cheers drowned out the noises of the band playing in the background, "yes Ash won his battle," Dawn and Rosa cried out in unison while Hugh stood up and clapped his hands.

Hugh walked up to Ash with a smirk, "I can see why Rosa idolizes you," Hugh said with a smile, "I want to learn more from you while I save my sister's pokemon," Hugh said while Roxie walked towards the trainer with the Toxic Badge in hand.

"Here Ash, you have earned this badge," Roxie decreed while handing over the badge, Ash took the badge and placed it inside his badge case, "I should tell you this, a person by the name of Tobias passed through her nearly a week ago, he beat me with just Darkrai," Roxie explained much to Ash's happiness, "seems like you know this person," Roxie stated while the girls walked over to Ash with Pikachu jumping on his shoulder.

"It seems like my rival is still miles ahead, I am in no rush," Ash said calmly while turning his gaze to Dawn.

"By the way, you can cross tonight my dad owns the boat that heads goes Castelia City," Roxie said calmly while walking towards the exit of the gym.

Ash looked over to his friends and nodded while getting ready to leave for the next part of his journey to the next city, "first I need to heal Zorua, then we head off towards Castelia City," Ash declared happily as his electric cheered with joy.

The group walked out of the gym and towards the Pokemon Center to heal Ash's team, they didn't notice a large blue pokemon standing between a large grey bear like pokemon and a graceful green pokemon, 'Virizion, is that the young girl you're talking about, I sense the other girl has an unyielding spirit, while the young man with spiky blue hair seeks to defend what's right,' the large blue pokemon stated with a smile, 'Terrakion, I want you to test that man, Virizion, you need to test that young girl, I will personally test the one with the unyielding spirit,' the powerful pokemon decreed much to the delight of the other two pokemon.

'Cobalion, what about the other trainer?' Terrakion asked the leader of the trio as it looked towards Ash with a powerful gaze, 'what is going to test his strength?' Terrakion asked its friend.

'It seems like there is already a trial for him, I sense he is the one that will gather truth and ideals to work for him,' Cobalion said before leaving the area to get ready for its trial against the one it chose.

'Wow, Cobalion is serious, I mean not even going to battle the one it chose to battle,' Terrakion said with a smirk.

'Maybe Cobalion wants them to become stronger before facing them in battle,' Virizion told the powerful ally, 'I will be getting ready to battle that other young woman, it would be wise for you to prepare to face the one Cobalion instructed," Virizion said before heading off to get ready.

* * *

**The first of the legendary trio has arrived on the scene, wanting to test the resolve of Dawn, Rosa and Hugh. **

**Next time: chapter 8: Trouble in the City**

**Sorry that one took longer than expected, but here it is for all of you to read. **


	8. Trouble in the City

**Almost Easy Chapter 8: Trouble in the City.**

_Time to introduce Iris to the story even though she will only play a small role in the story itself._

* * *

Ash sat on the boat as it approached a large city with the map in his hand, he looked up for a second to see Dawn looking down at him with her hands on her hips, sighing at how much attention Ash was paying to the map, "Ash, you have done nothing but look at that map since you got," Dawn remarked with frustration, she walked to a seat next to Ash and proceeded to sit down, 'he is so focused on a task that he doesn't need to hurry with,' the bluenette thought as she looked up to see her friends arguing about who was the better trainer, she quickly turned her gaze to the skyline of the approaching city thinking about how big the Unova region was, "amazing how big this city is," Dawn stated under her breath while Piplup looked up to his coordinator.

Ash folded the map and placed it back in his pocket, "oh hey Dawn, didn't know you were there," Ash said with a smile causing Dawn to clench her fists in anger.

"You idiot Ash, you're too focused on the map Alder gave you, why not just enjoy this region? Heck why not at least enjoy traveling with me?!" Dawn yelled at the trainer while looking away from the trainer causing all of her friends to look at her in shock, even the arguing Rosa and Hugh were amazed at the coordinators remarks as she stood up to walk to the front of the boat.

"Maybe I am too focused on the map and my gym battles," Ash said while looking out to see Dawn standing at the front with Piplup in her arms. Ash soon got up and approached Dawn, he put his left hand on her right shoulder the sea breeze gently blew across on the faces of the two trainers, "how about we go on a date in the next city, have a little break on our journey?" Ash asked his girlfriend with guilt.

Dawn turned around with a bright smile, "I would love that Ash," Dawn replied happily.

"Excuse me sir, do you know what the city is beyond this one?" Ash asked Roxie's father.

The captain looked up with a smirk, "why that would be Nimbasa City, famous for its theme parks, Pokemon Musicals and Elesa the electric gym leader," Roxie's father replied while steering his boat towards the docks.

"Pokemon Musicals?" Dawn questioned with her head tilted.

Rosa and Hugh stomped away after they finished their argument, "kind of reminds me of when we started traveling Dawn," Ash said with a chuckle, the two rookie trainer crossed their arms and looked away from one another, "all because they think they are better than one another and they haven't even done any training," Ash stated while laughing at the two trainer.

"You know Rosa, how about you leave the group," Hugh said smugly.

Rosa glared at the spiky haired trainer with her cheeks puffed up, "oh right, at least I have Dawn to help me train," Rosa remarked as Hugh looked up to see Ash, "all you have is someone too focused on a map given to him and his gym battles," Rosa said with a smirk while calling out her grass starter pokemon, "if you want to get any better, how about you become my training partner?" Rosa asked the trainer with a cheeky smirk.

"Finally you say something worth listening to," Hugh replied calmly as he walked up to the back of the boat, "but I do know I will get some training from Ash," Hugh said while their friends looked on nervously as Rosa shot a death glare at Hugh.

"Alright you two that is enough," Ash said as he walked between the fighting duo, "Rosa, you and Dawn are to be training partners from now on, Hugh and me will all be training together," Ash replied with certainty as the rookies glared at each other. They crossed their arms and looked away again, "oh man, what will it take to stop you from arguing?" Ash asked himself as Dawn approached Ash and stood next to him while their rookies walked away from each other.

"Do you think it would be a good idea?" Dawn asked her boyfriend quietly as she looked over to Rosa.

Ash nodded and looked over at Hugh for a moment, "if we can give them a healthy rivalry, then we won't have to worry about them arguing all the time, or we can build them up as team mates slowly," Ash replied quickly as the boat started to prepare to dock in the harbor, "I like the second option more," Ash remarked as he looked towards the large skyscrapers dominating the day time sky.

"Welcome to Castelia City," Roxie's father declared with a smile before tying the rope to the mooring, "here there is a gym, but from what Roxie told me he is going through an artist's block at the moment," he said while the traveling group walked off the boat while gawking at the amazing size of the city, "yep the largest City in Unova," he said while getting of the boat himself.

Ash, Dawn, Hugh and Rosa walked towards the massive city before Ash was bowled over by a teenager with long purple hair, "ouch, watch where you're going!" she yelled at the trainer in anger as she slowly picked herself up.

Ash got up to see the young girl glaring at him, "I would tell you the same thing," Ash replied while scratching his head.

The girl ran up to Ash with her arms crossed, "you don't know who you're messing with, I am Iris the champion of this region," the young girl introduced herself to the group.

"My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town," Ash announced himself to the champion.

Dawn, Hugh and Rosa soon followed with their introductions while Iris looked on in amazement, "Ash and Dawn, you two are famous in this region, I mean I remember a couple of people who idolized you like crazy," Iris pointed out while smirking at the two trainers.

"Oh great we're famous Dawn," Ash said with disdain after hearing about his fame.

Dawn giggled at hearing Ash's disdain towards the fame, "oh come on Ash, how many people recognize us, only Hugh, Rosa and….. she is gone," Dawn enquired while looking around for the young champion before being surrounded by a group of people.

"Hey look it's Ash Ketchum and Dawn Berlitz," one of the members of the crowd called out before handing Ash and Dawn a picture of them during their travels through Sinnoh, "I want your autograph!" he demanded.

Ash and Dawn looked at each other with nervous smiles alround, "Dawn, will go out with me," one of the men asked the bluenette.

"Hey handsome, how about you go out with me," one of the women asked the trainer.

"Stop please, I already have someone," Ash declared causing the women to glare at Dawn.

"Yeah me too," Dawn retorted as she looked over to Ash, the men of the group looked over at Ash disapprovingly, "oh man, I never knew being famous would be such a pain," Dawn complained while Hugh and Rosa watched Ash and Dawn handle the large crowd.

After a while the crowd cleared up leaving Ash and Dawn exhausted and Pikachu tired from using his electric attacks on the invasive crowd, "Yeah I know, I was hoping our journey would be less eventful," Ash stated while looking over to his new friends.

Rosa and Hugh approached Ash and Dawn who were wondering what to do next, "seems like you two have a massive fanbase," Hugh said with a smirk, but his thoughts soon shifted to the Unova Champion, he looked around to see if Iris was around, "I find it odd that the champion would just leave after introducing herself," Hugh said while placing his hand on his chin.

"Yeah I thought I saw her heading towards the far end of the harbor," Rosa pointed out quietly.

Ash looked at Dawn and nodded, "then we will find out what's going on," Ash declared calmly. the group walked towards the other end of the harbor with the people looking at them noticing the trainer and the coordinator, "I seriously hope we don't bump into another large crowd," Ash said with a sigh but still continued to approach the wharf.

After walking for a short amount of time with the watchful gaze of their fans, they finally spotted Iris, "Burgh, you said you saw Team Plasma enter this area," Iris declared while talking to a slender man with bushy brown hair, "If so then there is a possibility they might be looking for something here," Iris stated while the traveling companions approached the duo.

"Team Plasma are here?" Hugh asked while clenching his fists in anger.

Ash stood between Hugh and Iris, "Hugh calm down," Ash instructed his friend before turning his gaze towards Burgh and Iris, "So Team Plasma are here, but what are they searching for?" Ash asked the duo.

Burgh shook his head, "no idea young man, all I know is that whatever it is, it's trouble for us, I can sense that it's really big," Burgh pointed out with grave concern.

Hugh quickly ran off towards the entrance of the sewer to chase down Team Plasma, "now is my chance to get my sister's Purrloin back," Hugh told himself before the rest of his friends chased after him to prevent him from getting in any danger.

The group made into the sewers to investigate the activities of Team Plasma, Ash looked around to find that the design on the map was quiet similar, Dawn looked around until she grabbed for her nose with her left hand to hold back the smell of the place, "Ash this place reeks," Dawn complained with great displeasure, the group looked around again to find Zubats and Grimers all over the place, "well the Grimers explain the smell," Dawn said with a frown while trying to keep the smell from affecting her.

"I didn't ask you to follow us Dawn," Ash remarked with a smirk.

Dawn noticed Ash pulling out the map as he followed it through the sewers, 'who would place such a valuable item in the sewers?' Dawn thought to herself while looking over towards her friends.

"Alright Hugh and Rosa, I need you two to look around the south of the sewers," Ash instructed the younger trainers before turning to Dawn, "Dawn, I want you to come with me," Ash told the bluenette quietly before walking ahead with the map in his hand.

Dawn followed Ash with Pikachu close behind, "why did you send Hugh and Rosa to an obviously less dangerous area of the sewers?" Dawn asked the trainer curiously as the two walked towards the northern path of the sewers.

"So they can learn to get along," Ash replied wisely while looking around the sewers until he spotted a couple of people dressed in black, "ah Team Plasma."

"So should we follow them?" Dawn asked while Ash put the map back in his pocket.

"Yes but we should be careful, we don't want to put the people in danger," Ash retorted quietly. The two walked against the wall and kept out of view of Team Plasma, Ash looked around to see a stairwell letting out a little smile, 'I need to go up that stairwell, but after I sort out this problem,' Ash thought before turning his gaze back to the two Team Plasma members following them while keeping their distance.

"Ash, it seems like they are heading to that building," Dawn whispered sternly.

Ash nodded and saw Colress walking out of the building, "you still haven't found that special item, we need it to complete Ghetsis' mission," the scientist remarked before looking up to see a small yellow tail, "it also seems like you failed at keeping our operation a secret, you two fools were followed," Colress berated the Plasma grunts, "now you two will have to deal with them," Colress instructed the duo.

Meanwhile at the other end of the sewers Rosa was looking around feeling a little bored with Ash's order, "geez there is nothing to do, we have been walking here for some time," Rosa complained while Hugh looked around uninterested in Rosa's complaints, "you know Hugh, I think Ash kept us from getting involved because he didn't think we were strong enough at the moment," Rosa stated causing Hugh to stop in his tracks.

"How clever of him," Hugh remarked with a smirk, "you know for an energetic person, you are also very clever," Hugh complimented the young brunette before hearing the explosions of a battle further up in the sewers, "let's head in that direction," Hugh said with a devious smirk.

Rosa nodded excitedly and followed Hugh running towards the battle, "could that be Ash and Dawn?" Rosa asked her friend as more explosions of the battle rumbled through the sewers until the saw a large spark jumping around, "I guess that answers my question," Rosa replied to her own question. As the duo got closer two more members of Team Plasma appeared in front of them calling out their pokemon, "Hugh, we need to battle as a team again," Rosa decreed but Hugh remained uninterested in the proposal, "Hugh, forget about revenge now, we need to help Ash and Dawn," Rosa instructed the teen while her friend glared at the plasma grunts. "Snivy, I choose you," Rosa mimicked Ash while calling out her pokemon to battle Team Plasma.

Hugh nodded but was still burning with anger, "time to unleash my rage, go Oshawott," Hugh called out his water type pokemon.

The two starter pokemon stood at the ready to face off against the two Plasma grunts, "Whirlipede attack with Steamroller," the plasma grunt commanded his poison type pokemon.

"Krokorok, attack with Stone Edge," the second plasma grunt issued her command.

The two pokemon moved quickly with their attacks, the desert croc pokemon sent out a barrage of stones towards the grass type pokemon while the Curlipede pokemon spun around before heading towards the water starter pokemon, Hugh and Rosa looked at each other and nodded, "Dodge now," the two commanded in unison. Their pokemon dodged the incoming attacks before landing next to their trainers.

Oshawott attack with Water Gun," Hugh instructed his pokemon with his left arm stretched out.

"Snivy attack with Leaf Tornado," Rosa commanded while swinging her right arm outwards. The two pokemon unleashed their attacks.

The plasma smirked at the duo and nodded at their pokemon, they unleashed a repeat of their previous attack knocking the two pokemon back. Hugh and Rosa watched in horror as their pokemon fell to the ground after taking significant damage from their attackers. Their expressions soon changed as their pokemon started to glow, they watched as their pokemon grew taller, "what? Our pokemon, they are evolving," Hugh pointed out with great surprise.

"Yes my Snivy evolved," Rosa celebrated happily, but soon changed her expression when she glared at the Plasma grunts, "now time for a little pay back," Rosa declared with a cheeky grin.

"For once I agree with you," Hugh replied with a smirk, "Dewott attack now with Razor Shell," Hugh ordered, the mostly blue pokemon charged towards the ground type pokemo with two shells, the water type slashed down on the ground type but was about to be attacked by the poison type pokemon from behind.

"You fools forgot about me, Servine attack with Leaf Blade," Rosa commanded with confidence, the grass type jumped up and spun around with her tail glowing green, she slashed down on the poison type not dealing a lot of damage but it was enough to knock the pokemon back. Rosa and Hugh nodded at each other gaining more confidence, "Servine, finish Krokorok with Leaf Tornado," Rosa gave out her ordered to her pokemon.

"Dewott, finish off Whirlipede with Water Gun," Hugh gave out his next command. The two pokemon quickly powered up their attacks before unleashing the devastating combination, the duo watched their attacks landing knocking out the opposing pokemon leaving the plasma grunts in shock, "hey Rosa, that wasn't so bad," Hugh said in a more relaxed tone.

"Yeah we actually make a pretty decent team," Rosa replied as she looked towards Ash and Dawn who were still fighting off multiple Plasma grunts, "but we are still miles off their level," Rosa stated with pride as the man with blonde hair stepped in to battle with Ash and Dawn, "maybe we should help them," Rosa said but Hugh stood there to watch the battle.

"No we would just get in their way, we simply aren't strong enough," Hugh pointed out wisely.

"It seems like you two are after the same thing as us, we have been searching for a special item, one that will help us dominate the Unova region," Colress said with a smirk as a magnet pokemon hovered next to him, he looked over to the trainer who was remaining calm while the bluenette was getting ready to call out her pokemon, "Magby, spotlight," Dawn called out her new fire type pokemon to battle the Plasma scientist.

"Lucario, I choose you," Ash brought out his aura pokemon to battle.

"Well time to see how you two will fair against me, Magnazone, Klinklang time to battle," Colress called forth his two steel type pokemon, "Discharge both of you," Colress instructed his pokemon coolly. The two steel type pokemon sent out a blast of electricity towards the opposing pokemon, "you two have no chance against me, you should know my pokemon are as well trained as yours," Colress digressed but was soon surprised by the teamwork that Ash and Dawn were displaying.

Magby and Lucario dodged the incoming attacks while Rosa and Hugh watched in amazement, "Magby attack with Flamethrowe," Dawn ordered her pokemon to counter attack.

"Lucario, follow it up with Aura Sphere," Ash instructed his pokemon. After the quick commands the two pokemon got their attacks ready and unleashed them with amazing precision.

"Attack with Electro Ball Magnazone, Mirror Shot Klinklang," Colress issued his command with more urgency. The two steel types quickly unleashed their attacks towards the opposing pokemon, "too bad for you young girl that Magby was just recently caught," Colress pointed out while shrugging his shoulder.

"Playing mind games with me will not work," Dawn stated while, "I have a partner that will always bring the best out of me and my pokemon, even if this one was just caught," Dawn explained while looking over to Ash with a proud smile, 'he might have been gone for two years, but I feel safe that he is back,' Dawn thought happily before turning her gaze back to the battle. "I will never give up, Magby attack with Fire Punch!" Dawn yelled out her next attack.

"Force Palm!" Ash hollered out the follow up attack, the two pokemon charged towards the steel types with vicious intent, the two attacks collided with the two pokemon dealing even more damage.

"Hmmmmm, not bad at all, you two seem to bring the best out of each other's skills," Colress stated before recalling his pokemon and walking away with the rest of Team Plasma, "it seems like my testing you could provide me with a new hypothesis in my new experiment," Colress pointed out while leaving the scene.

Ash and Dawn celebrated their victory and gave one another a high five, "that was awesome Ash," Dawn said happily forgetting the smell in the sewers.

But Ash wasn't ready to celebrate yet, he looked over to Hugh and Rosa who were standing there waiting For Ash and Dawn to leave the sewers, "what are you two waiting for?" Hugh asked but Ash wasn't ready to leave just yet he pulled out the map and walked towards the steps, "this again, he must be pretty close to finding what he came here for," Hugh said with slight disappointment.

"Well then we will follow him," Rosa decreed with a smile, she ran towards the duo leaving Hugh to think about what to do next.

Hugh walked towards the more experienced trainers not saying a word, thinking about how well his team work with Rosa went, "wait for me," Hugh called out to his friends before running towards them.

Before heading up the steps to find out what was someone called them to see what was happening, "hey you guys," Burgh called out to the friends, following close by was the Unova Champion, "we saw Team Plasma retreating, they took a boat away from the City to their next destination," Burgh stated while Iris walked up to Ash and Dawn.

"I see the most popular trainers in the world have a reason to be popular, you are both strong and really helpful," Iris said with a smile while turning her gaze to the two other trainers who were waiting for a remark from the champion herself, "you two are just little kids, but you have proven that you have potential," Iris remarked as the brunette started to lose her cool with the champion, she started to walk away while Rosa was yelling at her.

"I don't care if you're the champion, you cannot talk to me like that!" Rosa yelled out now focusing her anger towards the purple haired champion who was ignoring her yelling. "One day I will challenge and defeat you," Rosa mentioned he challenge to the champion with great irritation.

"Rosa, she did say you have potential," Dawn said nervously not noticing that Ash was walking up the steps towards the destination. The group followed Ash before he reach the top step.

The trainer opened the door to see a small field at the center of the city, he looked around to find that there was a single tree at the center of the field, he looked at his map and saw a mark on the map that resembled the tree, "seems like I am in the right area," Ash said with a proud smile, he ran up to the tree just as the rest of the group made it to the final step, they watched while the trainer approached the tree, "hey guys I found something that might be of help," Ash said excitedly before pulling out his next pokeball.

Dawn walked up to Ash hoping that Ash was able to find what he needed to find, "hey Ash, over here I think there is something here," Dawn pointed to the ground which was bulging slightly, Ash walked over to the small mound and started to dig it out, "so what do you think was buried in the ground?" Dawn asked while Ash continued to dig to find the treasure.

Ash got closer and closer until he spotted a bit of white in the ground, "I found something," Ash said with a smirk, he moved the dirt away from the item until it became more obvious what it was, it was round and white, it was warm to touch but Ash knew this was what he need to find, he picked up the item and looked at it for a moment, "a stone, is this what I was meant to find?" Ash asked with slight disappointment.

Hugh and Rosa looked at the stone for a moment and began to smile, "Ash, there is a legend about that stone," Hugh said with assurance. He walked up to his friend but was pushed aside by an incredible force, "as I thought this is the Light Stone, said to hold the power of an incredibly powerful pokemon," Hugh explained as Ash continued to look at the stone, he slowly picked himself up and turned around to walk away from the area.

Ash placed the item in his bag thinking about the legend of the stone, Dawn placed her hand on the trainer's left shoulder, "come on Ash, we need to leave this area, you have a gym battle to take part in," Dawn said before walking next to Ash.

"Yeah that's right Ash, Dawn and I want to cheer for you again," Rosa said while winking at the trainer causing Dawn to get angry at the younger trainer.

"Well maybe I will invite Iris to cheer with us," Dawn said making Rosa angry with such a suggestion.

"Invite Iris to participate in our cheers I will leave this group," Rosa threatened the bluenette.

The group walked out of the area with a new hope not knowing that they were being watched by a large blue pokemon, 'we will meet very soon,' Cobalion said before looking up to see a massive airship coming towards the city, 'but this Team Plasma is going to be an issue,' it told itself before leaving its perch on the area, 'that trainer found the first stone, but he still needs to find one more, that one will be more difficult than the first,' Cobalion dictated while jumping from roof top to roof top.

* * *

**I hope you all like this chapter, this one took longer to do since I was writing my other story Trainer and the Princess 2.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter the next chapter will be the gym battle.**

**Chapter 9: Fateful Encounters**


	9. Fated Encounters

**Chapter 9: Fateful Encounters:**

_Time for another major battle between Ash and Burgh the gym leader, a couple of encounters with a few important characters._

* * *

"Ash wake up now," Dawn demanded while Ash remained in bed, she knocked on the door to try and get the trainer up, 'great some things never change,' Dawn reminded herself while thinking about the times when Ash slept in, as the memories flowed in she thought of a wonderful idea, "Pikachu wake up Ash for me," Dawn requested of Ash's small electric type pokemon, with a sudden blast of electricity Dawn heard the screams of the trainer, she opened the door to see Ash on the floor with lightning leaping from his body.

Ash slowly picked himself up and looked towards his girlfriend, "gee thanks for the wake-up call Dawn" Ash sarcastically told the woman with a smirk, Ash walked towards the entrance of the room with Dawn following him, "what could be so important?" Ash asked while putting his jacket on, "for needing to wake me up like that?" Ash enquired further much to the pleasure of the coordinator.

Dawn walked up to Ash and pushed him towards the main lobby of the medical facility, "well, someone has been trying to call you all morning," Dawn replied while forcing Ash to the phone, "someone by the name of Liza," Dawn stated while Ash lazily looked at the phone to wait for the call to come in.

"Really?" Ash asked in amazement, "seems like I have a friend coming back to me," Ash said with a little more excitement.

The phone started ringing while Rosa and Hugh walked up to the duo, "hello Ash, I have been trying to call you all morning," Liza explained while the trainer scratched the back of his head embarrassed by the fact he slept in.

"Sorry Liza I slept in this morning," Ash said while looking over to Dawn and his Pikachu.

Liza chuckled with what was being said but she soon pulled out a pokeball and put it on the teleporter, "I have some amazing news, your Charizard wants to travel with you again," Liza declared much to the trainers excitement, she teleported the red and white device to where Ash was, "also, can you please make sure Charizard gets a decent challenge, he seems to have lost interest with staying here, none of the Charizard can challenge him," Liza pointed out as the pokeball appeared next to Ash.

Ash grabbed the pokeball containing his old pokemon, "thanks Liza, I will be sure to let you know how he is going," Ash said while finishing off the call. Ash looked down at the pokeball feeling excited with see his old friend back in his team, 'I can't believe you're back,' Ash thought as he jumped out of the seat and ran towards the entrance of the Pokemon Center.

Dawn followed Ash to see what the trainer was going to do next while Rosa and Hugh watched on, "oh man, I was about to tell him my decision," Hugh complained as he followed the two trainers outside.

Rosa stood there with a smile before following the rookie trainer to her friends, 'I want to watch his next battle before I head out on my own, I just feel like I have been holding those two back,' Rosa thought to herself as she watched her friend call out a large orange pokemon with powerful wings and a large tail with a powerful flame at the tip.

Ash walked up to his pokemon before being hit by a burst of flames, Ash hit the ground after the powerful attack much to the shock of everyone, "something's never change," Ash stated before one of his pokemon jumped out of its pokeball, the large blue pokemon walked up to Charizard and growled at the large orange pokemon, Ash sat up and witnessed the two pokemon glaring at one another growling and not backing away, "hey you two, you're team mates not enemies," Ash told the two powerful pokemon concerned that they would start to fight.

Ash picked up two of his pokeballs and recalled the powerful pokemon, Hugh stood there amazed at what he had just witnessed, "Ash, after I watch your gym battle, I am heading back to Aspertia City," Hugh told the trainer with a smirk, "I will challenge the gyms and become your rival," Hugh explained while Ash took the time to get up, the two friends looked at one another and extended their hands out to shake.

"I will be heading to Nuvema Town to participate in the gym battles as well, so it seems like we will be rivals as well," Rosa said while looking over to Hugh and ignoring Ash, "I know Ash is much stronger than me, so being his rival would seem a little pointless," Rosa explained before turning her gaze to Dawn, "now for you, when the time is right, I want to be your rival in Pokemon Contests," Rosa told the bluenette who stood there amazed at the confidence the brunette was exuding.

"But before we head off in separate directions, we need to watch Ash battle the Gym Leader of this City," Dawn replied to her friends while looking over to Ash who was getting pumped for the battle and Pikachu allowing sparks to fly from his cheeks, Dawn stood there knowing what was going to happen next, "Oh Ash, after we make it to the next city, we need to spend some time together," Dawn reiterated to Ash who nodded happily.

The group of friends walked through the city until they reached a large building with wide windows with a green field lined with trees inside, "so this is Castelia Gym," Rosa whispered as she walked into the gym first followed by her friends.

Ash and Dawn looked around to see the bug type pokemon jumping from tree to tree, while some were walking around on the ground through the bushes, Ash tried to find the gym leader who wasn't easy to find, Ash spotted a large cocoon, "this is just great, where is the gym leader?" Ash asked in frustration before walking further into the building, "If the gym leader is around I challenge you to a battle!" Ash called yelled out for the gym leader to appear.

Dawn looked until the large cocoon fell from the tree and behind the four people much to their shock, "now young trainer we are going to have an artistic battle," a man said while unwrapping himself from the cocoon, "I Burgh accept your challenge," he said while walking up to Ash.

Ash and Burgh wondered to the battlefield ready to battle each other, 'I wonder if what the other gym leaders said is true,' Burgh wondered as he watched his foe get ready to battle him, Burgh pulled out a pokeball, 'both Roxie and Cheren said this guy is strong, just like Tobias,' Burgh thought to himself while staring at the trainer while blanking out everything around him, 'I do sense a great power hiding with in him,' Burgh thought as he heard the referee declaring the battle ready to begin, "alright Ash, show me what you've got, Scolipede, let's go," Burgh called out a large purple pokemon for the battle against the trainer.

Ash held his pokeball out with a smirk, "battle me with everything you've got," Ash ordered the gym leader with supreme confidence, "Lucario, I choose you," Ash called forth his first pokemon to battle the gym leader.

"He wants me to battle him at my best, well let's start things off with Double Edge," Burgh told his pokemon while Ash just stood there with a smirk on his face.

Ash watched the powerful bug type charging towards the aura pokemon with incredible force, "Lucario, dodge the attack, then use Bone Rush," the trainer instructed his fighting type pokemon quickly.

The aura pokemon jumped out of the way of the charging megapede pokemon and formed a large bone staff in his hands, in a fast motion the aura pokemon hit the bug type with multiple blows with the weapon shocking the gym leader at how precise the attacks were, the megapede pokemon landed in front of the gym leader panting after taking the powerful attacks from the much smaller pokemon.

"Amazing, Cheren said his Lucario was strong, but I never expected it to be this strong," Burgh said with amazement, "okay, Scolipede attack with Steamroller," Burgh instructed his combatant with a little more hope.

Ash waited for the opposing pokemon to move closer, Ash let out a quick sneer knowing that the time was right to attack again, "Lucario, attack with Aura Sphere," Ash commanded his fighting type pokemon calmly. The aura pokemon leapt into the air and formed a ball of blue energy in the palm of the fighter's hands before unleashing it at the unsuspecting foe.

Burgh watched in shock as the ball of aura slammed into his first pokemon, the ball exploded causing dust to rise up in the surrounding area, 'amazing, his pokemon have amazing power,' Burgh thought to himself while waiting for the dust to settle, 'not only that his Lucario is extremely well trained,' Burgh explained to himself while seeing the dust lowering with every passing second.

"Yeah that's it Ash, show him what you're made of!" Dawn cheered with a broad smile, raising her fist into the air while cheering for Ash over and over again.

Ash watched as the smoke finally settled to reveal that Scolipede had been knocked out of the battle, "the winner of this round is Lucario," the umpire decreed while raising his hand to Ash's side of the battlefield.

Burgh recalled his pokemon amazed at how powerful Ash was, he watched as the trainer returned his pokemon, "so you're going to show off some more of your pokemon, Crustle it's time to battle," Burgh called forth his second pokemon, a large red pokemon with a large cut away block for a shell, "let me see what you have to offer," Burgh requested as the trainer picked another of his pokeballs, 'his confidence is intimidating,' Burgh thought while noting Ash's confident expression.

"You asked for it, Garchomp I choose you," Ash called out his next pokemon to battle the gym leader.

Burgh gazed at the powerful dragon standing in the middle of the arena, noticing how powerful the pokemon looked, "fantastic, your dragon pokemon, Roxie said something about that, she said your Garchomp is your strongest pokemon, yet you bring it out this early," Burgh told Ash with a smile while thinking about what Roxie had told him, 'this pokemon knocked out her Garbodor with pure power, something Garchomp are known for,' Burgh reminded himself as he remembered the shocked expression of Roxie from the day before, "Start this round with X-Scissor," the bug type gym leader demanded with certainty.

Ash looked over to his dragon type pokemon and waited for an opening to attack, after the much slower pokemon got closer with its glowing claws ready to slash down on the trainer's pokemon, "now try Dragon Claw," Ash instructed his pokemon quickly. The large dragon charged towards the bug type pokemon with a glowing claw, he slashed at the rock type knocking it back after taking the hit, but was hit by one of the claws of the pokemon, "well done Burgh, you are the first to hit Garchomp with one of your attacks," Ash complimented the gym leader while remaining unfazed by the hit his pokemon received.

"What that's the first time his pokemon got hit, no wonder why the previous two gym leaders were amazed at this guy's power," Burgh told himself while his Crustle got back up after the attack, 'not only did he let my pokemon hit his own to lure me in, but he hit my pokemon harder,' the gym leader told himself while seeing his pokemon panting from the single attack it took from the powerful dragon type pokemon.

Dawn and Rosa continued to cheer for Ash while Hugh watched in amazement, "impressive, his pokemon are going to be tough to beat," Hugh whispered while sitting there with his arms crossed, he continued to watch with great intent ignoring the girls cheer for Ash with all their might, 'I need him to be a benchmark for my training,' Hugh thought with pride as he watched the trainer continue his battle with the gym leader.

"Yeah keep it up Ash!" Dawn and Rosa cheered in unison while pumping their fists into the air.

'I am getting more impressed with Ash, his pokemon seem to be getting stronger all the time,' Dawn thought while looking down at the trainer with a prideful smile, 'when he left me just over two years ago, he was nowhere near as strong as he is now,' Dawn looked back at the past events and the battle with Tobias, "he continues to evolve," Dawn said in an impressed manner.

"Use Rock Slide now," Burgh called for his next attack of the battle. Crustle unleashed a mighty avalanche of rocks at the dragon type pokemon.

"Garchomp, dodge the rocks then use Brick Break," Ash ordered with certainty. The powerful dragon leapt from side to side dodging the powerful attack, the entire arm of Garchomp started to glow before slamming it down on the bug type, the pokemon flew back from the force of the attack leaving everyone amazed at the brawn the dragon type was displaying in front of them.

"Crustle no," Burgh called to his bug type pokemon.

The judge called raised his hand to Ash's end knowing that Crustle was out of the battle, "Crustle is unable to battle this round goes to Ash Ketchum," the judge confirmed with confidence.

Burgh recalled his pokemon while watching the trainer recall his, "I only have one more pokemon to battle with, I want to see what he has, Leavanny it's time to battle," Burgh called for his final pokemon to battle the challenger. A sudden chill ran down the gym leaders spin as he watched the opposing trainer pick up his next pokeball, 'whatever is in that pokeball is most certainly a very powerful pokemon,' Burgh thought while watching the trainer throw out his pokeball.

A bright light enveloped the pokemon, it's wings extended out until the glowing stopped, "say hello to Charizard," Ash remarked with confidence as the fire type let out a deafening roar while unleashing a powerful burst of fire into the air, "Burgh I will let you make the first move," Ash told the gym leader while staying confident in his pokemon's abilities.

'He is daring me to attack,' Burgh reminded himself while the trainer waited for the, "Leaf Blade," Burgh instructed his pokemon while feeling uncertain of Charizard's true capability in battle.

Charizard stood there and took the attack on the chest, he used his claws to scratch where the attack landed, Charizard let out a mighty roar while waiting for the command, "Charizard attack with Flamethrower," Ash told his pokemon confidently.

The powerful fire type threw back his head allowing a powerful ball of flames to appear in his mouth, he lowered his head and sent out a steady stream of flames at the bug/grass type pokemon, after the flames cleared up the opposing pokemon was on the ground taken out after a single hit from the.

"What power, his Charizard is super strong," Burgh stated while recalling his fallen pokemon from the battle, the gym leader walked up to Ash with the badge in hand to congratulate him, "I am impressed, your pokemon are well trained, by the way someone by the name of Tobias passed through the city about five days ago," Burgh explained with a smile as he handed the trainer the insect badge.

"Thanks for the battle," Ash replied with a smile while taking the badge politely. He looked over to his friends as they approached him, 'I am finally catching up to Tobias,' Ash thought quietly as he remembered the battle against Tobias and Darkrai in the Sinnoh League, thinking about his defeat at the hands of his powerful legendary pokemon, he turned his view to the bluenette walking up to him, 'I always knew I would have the support of one person,' Ash reminded himself as the rest of the group walked up to the trainer proud of his battle against the trainer.

"That was amazing," Dawn repeated over and over again excited about how much stronger Ash had gotten over the time he was away, 'I thought I was getting stronger but it seems that Ash is ten steps ahead of me,' Dawn wondered while looking at the ground in shame, thinking about what she needed to do next, she looked at her Piplup who was catching up to the trio with Pikachu next to him laughing and talking to one another.

"What's the matter Dawn?" Rosa asked her friend nervously.

"Nothing, just thinking about how much stronger Ash had gotten," Dawn retorted while faintly smiling at the more inexperienced trainer, "I was thinking how I could become strong to show Ash that I have become stronger," Dawn professed as her smile quickly disappeared, she watched Ash and Hugh talking about their respective goals before walking up to the girls happily.

"Well let's head out of here, we need to continue our travels," Ash told Dawn positively.

The group walked out of the Castelia Gym all smiling and laughing except for Dawn who was lagging behind the group, thinking about the times she had traveled with Ash in the past, the days she would think of Ash as her equal, she wondered what she could do to prove to Ash that she was definitely much stronger than she was since the Sinnoh League, ' I feel like I am living in his shadow now,' Dawn told herself as she continued to walk behind the group.

Ash looked back to see Dawn dawdling behind the group, he turned around and waited for Dawn to catch up while the other two were walking ahead to the Pokemon Center, Dawn was looking at the ground not noticing that Ash was standing in front of her, "is there something wrong Dawn?" Ash asked his girlfriend.

Dawn lifted her head and came into eye contact with Ash, "I was just thinking about our past journey together, when we were at the same level," Dawn replied to the trainers question quietly, "now I just feel like I am walking in your shadow," Dawn explained while trying to hold back tears from her own shame, "I want to become stronger, but I am not sure how I can do it without holding you back," Dawn stated as the trainer walked up to the coordinator and embraced the girl, "Ash?"

"Holding me back?" Ash questioned with laughter while hugging Dawn, "I never thought you were holding me back," Ash told the bluenette with a smile before pulling away from the embrace, "how about I help get stronger," Ash offered happily.

"But what about the Unova League?" Dawn asked the raven haired trainer.

"As you would say, no need to worry," Ash replied surely, "I have plenty of time, it isn't like the Unova league will be happening tomorrow," Ash stated while scratching the back of his head.

"You're right," Dawn replied while standing there quietly, "thanks for the offer," Dawn replied to Ash offer as she started to feel much better after hearing Ash's offer to help her, Ash extended his hand out much to the surprise of the coordinator.

Ash left his hand out and grinned at the bluenette, "come on Dawn, the other two would want us to wish them luck on their travels," Ash assured Dawn while smiling at her. Dawn took Ash's hand and walked with him to the medical facility while holding his hand.

Rosa and Hugh waited for the two lovebirds to arrive at the medical facility, when the two finally made it into the Pokemon Center, Rosa and Hugh looked down to see Ash and Dawn holding hands, "so you finally made it, we were wondering where you two were," Hugh explained with a smirk, he walked up to the two trainers, "well this is where we part ways for now, I hope to see you two again," Hugh said as he extended his hand out to Ash, the two trainers nodded before the more experienced trainer stretched his out to meet with the rookies hand, "I want to become as strong as you, I am unable to do that while I am traveling with you two," Hugh declared as he shook hands with Ash.

"I hope we can stop Team Plasma as well," Ash stated as Hugh walked away from the trainer with a proud smile, Hugh looked back an nodded in approval before exiting the Pokemon Center, Ash looked over to his fan and walked up to her with Dawn next to him, "so Rosa, what about you?" Ash asked the brunette calmly.

"For me, I want to battle you as well Ash, but just like Hugh, I will be doing so at the Unova League," Rosa expressed her plans to Ash before turning her gaze to Dawn, "you know something?" Rosa question while looking at Ash and Dawn who were holding hands, "I was hoping to win Ash away from you, but I realize that will never happen," Rosa said with laughter as she held out her hand to Dawn, "I will be your biggest fan Ash and Dawn, so don't do anything to change that," Rosa stated playfully while Dawn met the young girls hand to shake it, "when I get the chance, I want to become a coordinator, just like you," Rosa professed before walking to the exit of the Medical facility.

Ash and Dawn let out a sigh knowing that they were going to travel together for the rest of the region, Ash walked to the main desk of the to give his pokemon a check-up before continuing on his journey with Dawn.

Ash and Dawn sat down to discuss where they were going to head to next, "you know Ash, now that we are going to travel just the two of us and our pokemon, how about we head to Nimbasa City," Dawn suggested with a little more confidence. Ash ate the rest of his meal before looking up to see Dawn giggling at him, she spotted the mess on Ash's face before slurping up the last bit of pasta, "you've never changed, I mean you still eat like a pig," Dawn digressed while leaning over to clean Ash's face up.

After Dawn had cleaned up the trainers face, the bell started to chime signaling that Ash's pokemon were ready to be picked up, "well at least I have you to keep me from going crazy," Ash joked before going off to pick up his pokemon from Nurse Joy, 'makes me wonder how many more people know about us,' Ash wondered quietly.

After picking up his pokemon from the check-up the duo walked towards the northern exit of the city to start their journey towards the next destination. Ash and Dawn walked through the gates of the large city looking back to think about their friends who had traveled with them from Aspertia City, "time for us to head out to Nimbasa City," Dawn declared before walking towards the desert.

As they started walking towards the next city a powerful gust of wind stopped them from going any further, they covered their faces to protect their eyes from the harsh sand, Dawn tried to get a view of what was going on, it was then she spotted a large blue pokemon before the harsh winds died down, "Ash, there is a pokemon in front of us," Dawn said in shock as the pokemon approached them quietly, "what do you want?" Dawn asked the powerful pokemon.

'You're Dawn right?' the pokemon asked the coordinator coldly, the coordinator nodded unable to say anything in awe of the pokemon standing in front of her, Ash moved between the mysterious pokemon to prevent her from getting hurt, 'you have nothing to worry about, I just want to talk to Dawn,' the legendary pokemon declared his interest to the trainer, 'my name is Cobalion, very soon your other friends will be meeting with the other two pokemon, Hugh with Terrikion and Virizion will meet with Rosa,' Cobalion stated while the two trainers looked at each other in shock.

"What is it you want from me Cobalion?" Dawn asked with uncertainty while walking towards the legendary pokemon.

'I want to test your abilities in a battle,' Cobalion decreed with a smile as it turned around to get ready to leave, 'make sure you become stronger,' Cobalion instructed the bluenette before running off into the distance.

Ash and Dawn looked at one another now feeling very worried about what had just happened, "me facing a legendary pokemon, I don't know what to do," Dawn confessed while drooping her head with uncertainty, Ash took the coordinators hands and smiled at her, "Ash what do I do?" Dawn asked her boyfriend with a frown.

"What will I do, simple I will help you get stronger to face this new challenge," Ash dictated while Dawn looked at him in shock, "yes I know you feel like you're standing still, I know what that was like when I was defeated by Tobias," Ash explained quietly as Dawn continued to look down in shame, "oh come on where is that confidence?" Ash asked while helping Dawn's spirit up, "I said I will help you get stronger, I am not worried about helping you out," Ash proclaimed with certainty before he started walking through the desert with Dawn holding his hand.

As the duo journeyed through the desert, a large black pokemon landed in front of them, "not another legendary pokemon," Ash complained as the large pokemon glared at Ash, a man with long green hair jumped off the pokemon head and landed in front of Ash, "who are you?" Ash asked with his fists clenched.

"My name is N, the previous leader of Team Plasma," the man known as N introduced himself to Ash and Dawn, "I saw what had happened a moment ago," the man said with a smile as he recalled his pokemon to his pokeball, "just like Cobalion I am also wanting to challenge you," he said with a smile as he looked over to the trainer's small yellow pokemon and the coordinators small blue pokemon, "your pokemon seem very happy to have you as a trainer," N said while petting the two pokemon gently.

"My name is Ash Ketchum and I am from Pallet Town in the Kanto region," Ash introduced himself to the former leader of Team Plasma.

"I am Dawn Berlitz from the Sinnoh Region," Dawn finished the introductions.

"Nice to meet you both," N said with a smile while turning around with a worried look, "be careful of Team Plasma, they have become more dangerous since my father returned," N warned the two people behind him, he walked away through the desert leaving the two trainers in awe not knowing what to say after the two strange meetings with a powerful pokemon and a man with a large black pokemon.

Ash and Dawn recommenced their journey towards Nimbasa City, 'two meetings, one with a strange person, then there is Cobalion,' Ash thought as he continued to grasp Dawn's hand while thinking about how to help her get her confidence back, "hey Dawn, how about once we reach Nimbasa City we spend some time together?" Ash asked the girl who remained quiet ignoring Ash's question thinking about the challenge given to her by the legendary pokemon.

Dawn looked up to Ash and smiled at him, "no need to worry," Dawn told Ash before walking ahead of the trainer.

Ash stood on the spot and chuckled at his loves words, "that's when I worry the most," Ash said before he started to catch up to Dawn.

* * *

**Alright the chapter is done and dusted, two new challenges have come up for Ash and Dawn. How will they face these new challengers? And what is Team Plasma next plan?**

**Next time chapter 10: Sparks of Fashion and Music**


	10. Sparks of Fashion and Music

**Chapter 10: Sparks of Fashion and Music**

_Okay time to see what will happen in Nimbasa City, I hope you all enjoy this one, I am also introducing a recurring character to the story._

* * *

The entrance of Nimbasa City was in front of Ash and Dawn as they continued their journey through the Unova region, Dawn looked up to her surprise to see the beautiful city in front of her, "oh wow, so this is Nimbasa City," Dawn whispered while looking in every direction to see the many different wonders the city had to offer, she heard music in the distance playing in the distance while spotting the smiles on the faces of the people, "Ash, can we see where that music is coming from?" Dawn asked the trainer hopefully while clasping her hands together.

Ash chuckled a little while watching his girlfriend standing there begging him to go to where the music was coming from, "alright we can go there," Ash obliged with a grin, Dawn jumped up with joy knowing that this was the first time the two got to spend some time together, "I know you have been waiting to spend some time together," Ash commented while Dawn walked ahead of the trainer joyfully taking in the sights.

"Hurry up Ash!" Dawn called over to Ash who smiled at the blue haired coordinator.

Ash caught up with Dawn as they walked through the city towards the origin of the music, eventually they made it to the hall to find that the guards were keeping guard, "excuse me, we would like to enter," Ash requested but the guards stood there uninterested.

"Sorry we can't let anyone in until the show is completed," the guard on the left replied.

Dawn looked to the ground in disappointment, as Dawn turned around a woman with short black hair walked up to the entrance of the music hall, "Ash I really wanted to see the show even for five minutes," Dawn said with a frown feeling a little upset about the fact that she couldn't see the show.

"Excuse me, I want those two to come in," the woman said with a smile as she pointed to Ash and Dawn, "come on you two enjoy the show," she called over to the couple.

Ash and Dawn walked into the music hall to hear the grand quality of music hitting ears, "excuse me, who are you?" Ash asked the woman curiously.

"Why I am the supermodel Elesa," the woman known as Elesa introduced herself to the trainer and coordinator, the trio walked to the entrance of the stage while the performance continued on the great stage, "you know a young woman by the name of Hilda started all of this," Elesa explained with a smile as she showed a spare set of seats in the house, "her love Hilbert also helped her, before he challenged me to a gym battle," Elesa explained while getting ready to walk off to get her gym ready for the trainer.

"Thanks Elesa, my name is Ash and this is Dawn," Ash introduced himself and Dawn to Elesa before heading into the theater to get to their seats.

Ash and Dawn walked towards the seats before sitting down to watch the rest of the show, the pokemon on the stage danced around while the music continued to play through the airways, at the top of the rafters was a small humanoid pokemon with long green hair, a black headpiece and a black dress watched the show enjoying the music and the dance, it was then the small pokemon looked down to see Dawn and Ash watching the show, the bluenette was joyfully talking to Ash as the show continued.

Dawn continued to watch the final moments of the show in awe, impressed by what she was watching, "wow this show is amazing," Dawn complimented while her eyes lit up as the show continued to move on.

Ash glanced over to Dawn with a smile knowing that Dawn was finally having fun, 'she is enjoying herself,' Ash thought happily as the curtain came down to end the show, the people got up and started cheering pleased with the performance they had seen, "you know Dawn, even ten minutes of that show allowed you to smile," Ash commented while clapping for the performers.

"Ash, I want to go backstage," Dawn requested much to the trainers shock.

The crowd walked out from the show leaving Ash and Dawn alone for a moment, the walked up to the front of the stage and tried to find an exit for the backstage, while search Elesa showed up and gestured for them to come to the door, she let them in, "you know, you two actually remind me of Hilda and Hilbert, both of them followed their dreams with all their heart," Elesa explained while leading Ash and Dawn to the backstage area of the musical that they had watched.

"I am actually after a rematch against a man by the name of Tobias," Ash told the gym leader causing her to stop in her tracks, "Elesa?" Ash called over to the gym leader who was amazed about what she had heard.

"I battled him almost a week ago, he used a powerful dark type pokemon," Elesa stated while looking back to see her next challenger clenching his fist, "I didn't stand a chance, he also told me that a man by the name of Ash Ketchum will be challenging me next," Elesa explained while looking over her shoulder to see the trainer Ash's rival was talking about.

"Yeah, I expected as much," Ash replied with a smirk as the group started walking again.

Elesa lead the duo to the entrance of the backstage room hoping to show her new friends the backstage area, "welcome to the place where all the magic happens," Elesa introduced the couple to the area with all the pokemon and the people that made the show possible, "here we get to show off the costumes and the talents the pokemon have," Elesa explained while Dawn looked around in awe.

"Wow this is amazing," Dawn chimed while looking around with joy before walking up to some of the pokemon in the room.

"So Elesa, you said something about Hilda and Hilbert, have you seen them around?" Ash asked the gym leader as he watched Dawn checking out the costumes for the show.

Elesa shook her head in sadness, "no I haven't seen them in two years, not since they defeated Team Plasma," Elesa replied while Dawn continued to enjoy herself, "so why is she so interested in Hilda's creation?" Elesa asked as she pointed over to Dawn.

"She is a coordinator, an excellent coordinator as well," Ash retorted with pride before following Dawn through the crowds of pokemon with Pikachu on his shoulder, Ash walked quietly blissfully before a small pokemon appeared in front of him, "he what is this pokemon?" Ash asked as he watched the small pokemon hover around his head, Ash grabbed for his pokedex and scanned the pokemon for any information, "A Meloetta, interesting, a pokemon that can use its voice to soothe people and pokemon alike," Ash said after gathering the information, the pokemon looked over to Dawn who had let out her pokemon to enjoy to sights of the place.

"Ah, I see you met Meloetta, it always shows up for our musicals," Elesa pointed out while watching the melody pokemon flew towards the blue haired coordinator, "it seems to have taken a liking toward you and Dawn," Elesa pointed out with a smile while Meloetta started to play around with Dawn, "oh almost forgot Meloetta is quite playful," Elesa told the trainer before walking out of the backstage area.

Ash and Dawn stayed around while Meloetta continued to tease the bluenette, "Ash, are you tapping my shoulder?" Dawn asked while she felt a tap on her right shoulder, Dawn looked around as the pokemon feel out of sight and Ash laughing at her while the legendary pokemon continued to play with her, "alright show yourself," Dawn demanded with anger a she turned around to see who was standing behind her but still found nothing.

"Come on out Meloetta," Ash called for the melody pokemon.

The small pokemon appeared in front of Dawn who stared in amazement, "wow Ash this pokemon is so cute," Dawn declared while extending her right hand out towards the legendary pokemon, Meloetta hovered on the spot for a moment and turned its eyes to Ash, "you know Ash, maybe I should catch this pokemon," Dawn joked while pulling out her pokeball and stared at the pokemon for a moment.

"No Dawn, maybe it should just travel with us instead," Ash replied knowingly as Dawn placed her pokeball back in her pocket, "you know we should have a look around the city before I take on Elesa," Ash commented proudly.

"You know Ash, we need something to eat, so how about we go out and get some lunch?" Dawn asked Ash quietly.

The two walked out of the Music Hall followed by Meloetta who was starting to gain more interest in the two people it had recently met. Meloetta vanished to prevent from being seen by the public while watching Ash and Dawn walking through the streets looking for a place to eat at, "let's see, how about some pasta?" Ash asked with a smile while continuing their search for food.

"No way Ash, I want something a little different, some pizza would be nice," Dawn replied much to the trainers surprise, they continued to walk through the city before finding the sports arenas, they looked across the street to find a pizza café with a large TV and a few people sitting inside enjoying the atmosphere.

"Let's go there Ash," Dawn demanded before grabbing the trainer's arm and pulling him towards the café, Ash tried to stop Dawn but she was too determined to get some of the pizza, "no need for you to resist Ash," Dawn told her boyfriend while frowning at him.

"How can I resist? It isn't like I have a choice," Ash replied with sarcasm while walking into the café with Dawn holding his arm.

An attendant greeted up to Ash and Dawn promptly as they entered the café, "how may I help you out?" the male attendant asked the duo with a smile.

"We would like a table for two," Dawn replied quickly before the two were led to a table in a nice location by the attendant.

"Alright you two, what you need to know is that this is an all you can eat, ten pokedollers each," the attendant told Ash and Dawn with a smile before heading off towards the next lot of customers.

Ash and Dawn walked up to the food counters and took a plate, they walked around and started grabbing some of the food, "so Ash, will you be facing Elesa after we had some food?" Dawn asked the trainer while placing another slice of pizza on her plate, while Ash piled his plate up with food, Dawn took a look at the plate and giggled at how high it was going, "still the same old Ash," Dawn commented while getting ready to walk back to the table before watching Ash struggle back to the table with the food swaying from side to side.

"Well about that battle, yeah I intend to battle Elesa today," Ash replied to Dawn's question much to her disappointment, "once I get that out of the way, we can spend more time together," Ash explained before placing a slice of pizza into his mouth.

"Well it does seem that I have found something interesting Ash, those Pokemon Musicals have really got me thinking, Hilda introduced musicals, so I will try my best to introduce contests," Dawn explained while grabbing a slice of pizza.

Dawn placed the slice of pizza in her mouth before a mysterious light appeared between the couple, Ah looked down to see the small pokemon with long green hair again, Ash swallowed his food and grinned at it, "so Meloetta, you're following us?" Ash asked the melody pokemon favorably, Meloetta nodded in approval before grabbing some fruit from the table in front of it, "want to watch me battle Elesa?" Ash asked the legendary pokemon while it took a bite from the bright red fruit.

Dawn continued to eat her food saddened by the fact the legendary pokemon appeared to enjoy the meal with them, "you know Ash, I was kind of hoping to enjoy lunch with only you," Dawn commented while Meloetta stared at Ash and Dawn before disappearing to let Ash and Dawn have some time alone, "Meloetta is gone," Dawn pointed to area where the small pokemon was sitting was gone.

"Come on Dawn, I am sure Meloetta knew what was going on," Ash replied while taking another slice of pizza.

Meanwhile outside the pizza café Meloetta was floating outside watching Ash and Dawn finish their lunch, seeing Ash and Dawn talking and enjoying the atmosphere, Meloetta continued to look at Ash and his Pikachu thinking about the upcoming battle between Ash and Elesa. Meloetta watch as the trainer walked up to the front counter and paid for the meal while Dawn waltzed over to the trainer.

Ash emerged from the café with Dawn lagging behind him, "Come on Dawn, I really want to get this battle out of the way so we can spend more time together," Ash called out to the bluenette who was dawdling for a moment, "plus I really enjoy my battles more when you cheer for me," Ash teased the coordinator leading her to smile at him.

Ash and Dawn walked through the city to find the gym for the next battle, "look at that Ash, after you win, we need to go for a Ferris Wheel ride," Dawn told the trainer while walking into the theme park, to get to the gym, "oh wow, have a look at the games and rides," Dawn said with more optimism as they journeyed through the park until they spotted a building at the end of the park, "hey I wonder if that is the building," Dawn pointed over to the large building in front of the duo before noticing Meloetta hovering next to a window.

"Well I guess it's time to find out," Ash commented before rushing into the building.

"Welcome to the Nimbasa Gym, your pokemon and mine, time to see whose star shines brightest," a familiar female voice called out, when one of the lights shone down on the person who was wearing a fur coat. "So Ash, are you ready to face my electric pokemon?" the woman asked before showing her face to Ash.

"Bring it on Elesa," Ash replied while pulling out one of his pokeballs, Dawn walked into the building with Ash standing at one end of a catwalk.

"Zebstrika, time to light the stage," Elesa called out for her first pokemon, a zebra like pokemon stood in the middle of the battlefield ready to face whatever Ash had to offer, "I heard from the other gym leaders that you're strong," Elesa commented with confidence while Ash nodded in approval.

"Lucario, I choose you," Ash yelled out for his first pokemon.

While the two trainer waited for the first move Dawn was sitting down ready to cheer for Ash before a bright light appeared next to her, she looked down to see Meloetta sitting next to her, "you want to cheer with me?" Dawn asked the legendary pokemon with joy, the melody pokemon bowed its head blissfully as the two got ready to cheer the trainer on for the next badge, "come on Ash, show Elesa what you've got!" Dawn cheered loudly while Meloetta watched with anticipation.

"Zebstrika start things off with Flame Charge," Elesa instructed her pokemon with confidence, the electric type pokemon charge towards the steel type pokemon with a flaming aura.

Ash smirked knowing it was all about building speed up in this battle, "not so fast, Lucario counter with Bone Rush," Ash ordered his pokemon quickly, the aura pokemon drew his palms together to form a large bone, the aura pokemon charged towards the incoming attacker swinging the bone of energy against the charging pokemon.

"Dodge it now," Elesa called out quickly, the electric pokemon did as it was told and jumped away from the attack in the nick of time, "wow his pokemon is well trainer," Elesa sighed while the bone disappeared from the fighting types paws, "if that hit, my pokemon would have been in trouble," Elesa reminded herself while showing signs of caution, "Alright keep your distance and attack with Thunderbolt," Elesa commanded with a little more confidence.

Ash smirked for a moment and waited for the blast of electricity to be released, "dodge the attack," Ash quietly told his pokemon before getting ready to attack once again, "hey Elesa let's see if you can tell what happens next," Ash commented while the electric type unleashed a mighty bolt of lightning, the fighting type jumped out of the way as the massive bolt slammed into the ground, 'Aura Sphere now,' Ash nodded to his pokemon, the aura pokemon placed his palms together forming a ball of aura much to Elesa's surprise.

"Aura Sphere, but he didn't give the command," Elesa said in shock before her pokemon was hit by the powerful attack.

"I should tell you that, I can manipulate aura," Ash said with a proud smile while watching the opposing pokemon slowly get back up, "amazing not many pokemon I have battled got up after that, but it also see that your pokemon lost a chunk of its health," Ash complimented the gym leader's pokemon as it ot ready to attack again, "Lucario attack with Force Palm," Ash instructed his pokemon quickly.

"Dodge it hurry," Elesa called out with panic starting to build. After the command Zebrstrika tried to dodge but was unsuccessful and was hit by a powerful attack by, "impressive his pokemon is not only strong but very powerful," Elesa told herself as she recalled her fallen pokemon.

Elesa watched as the trainer recalled his pokemon, "yeah, I do like letting my opponents seeing my pokemon," Ash commented while picking another of his pokeballs for the next round.

"Emolga, time to light the stage," Elesa called out a small electric flying squirrel pokemon, "show me what other pokemon you have," Elesa set out the challenge.

"So Elesa, which one would you like to see?" Ash asked the gym leader while Dawn and Meloetta watched on in amazement.

"Just any pokemon will do just fine," Elesa replied with confidence.

"How about one I caught a little while ago, Zorua, I choose you," Ash called for his next pokemon.

Dawn looked on in shock knowing that Zorua was nowhere near as strong as Ash's other pokemon, "come on Ash, what about the other two?" Dawn asked in anger before realizing what he was doing, 'oh right, he is trying to get this one to become stronger,' Dawn reminded herself while the small black pokemon stared at the electric type pokemon.

"Emolga, attack with Aerial Ace," Elesa demanded for the first attack of the round.

"Night Slash," Ash countered quickly.

The two pokemon charged towards one another, with their attacks, the tricky fox pokemon charged with extended dark claws while the opposing electric type sped towards Zorua. The two pokemon collided in the middle of the battlefield, knocking the two pokemon back, "Emolga, attack with Discharge," Elesa called out for the next attack.

"Dark Pulse!" Ash yelled out for another counter attack.

The two pokemon unleashed their attacks with Zorua quickly getting overpowered by the devastating wave of electricity, Zorua took the attack and fell back while Emolga got ready to attack again, "Emolga attack with Aerial Ace," Elesa called for another attack, Emolga quickly flew through the air while Zorua slowly got back up.

"Attack with Shadow Ball," Ash ordered his pokemon. A ball of shadowy energy formed above the mouth of Zorua as the electric type pokemon got closer, the dark type unleashed the attack before the flying moving landed dealing significant damage to Elesa's pokemon.

"Yeah that's right Ash, keep going!" Dawn yelled out while the two pokemon glared at each other panting from the pace of the battle, "do it Ash!" Dawn continued to yell while Meloetta watched Dawn cheering for Ash.

Ash looked out the corner of his eye and smiled proudly, "alright time to end this round, Zorua attack with Flamethrower!" Ash hollered for the dark type to attack yet again.

The tricky fox pokemon unleashed a powerful blast of flames at the tiring electric type pokemon, but the small pokemon quickly flew around the flames, "alright, time to win this round, Emolga attack with Discharge," Elesa ordered quickly.

The sky squirrel pokemon unleashed a powerful burst of electricity knocking the flames away while hitting Zorua and knocking it out, "Zorua no!" Ash called out to his fallen pokemon.

"Wow, Zorua put up a really good fight," Dawn commented while feeling sorry for the dark type pokemon.

"You did well Zorua, take a long rest," Ash recalled his pokemon before looking over to his partner pokemon, "Alright Pikachu, time to win us another badge," Ash called over to his electric type pokemon, "Elesa, your pokemon won't last one move against my Pikachu, that wouldn't be fair," Ash told the gym leader while Dawn watched in shock knowing that this wasn't like Ash.

"Ash, I am a gym leader I cannot recall my pokemon from battle," Elesa replied with a smile, "it's great that you are so chivalrous, but Emolga wants to continue to battle," Elesa commented with a smile, Emolga looked over to Pikachu panting from the last round, Ash shrugged his shoulders knowing that Elesa had made up her mind, "Emolga attack with Aerial Ace," Elesa instructed her pokemon quickly.

"Thunderbolt now Pikachu," Ash ordered his pokemon with supreme confidence. The electric mouse unleashed a devastating bold of electricity at the incoming attack hitting it with amazing power, Elesa could only watch in disbelief as her pokemon was knocked out of the battle in one powerful move.

"Amazing, your Pikachu packs a punch," Elesa complimented while recalling her fallen pokemon, Elesa let out a grin while pulling out her next pokeball, she looked over to Ash who was extremely confident, "Eelectross, time to shine," Elesa called out her final pokemon, "just so you know, this pokemon is extremely powerful, she has only lose one battle in five years," Elesa pointed out while Ash started to gain a big picture on how powerful Elesa's pokemon was going to be.

"My guess is Darkrai," Ash replied with a smile, "Pikachu attack with Iron Tail," Ash told his electric mouse to start the round.

"Show him power with Dragon Claw," Elesa told her pokemon with a confident smile.

The two pokemon charged at one another with their attacks ready to strike, the Elefish pokemon's claws began to glow a pure white while the electric mouse's tail stiffened before the two struck in Elesa's half of the battlefield, the two pokemon began to compete for supremacy in the battle but were both pushed back, "not bad Elesa, not many pokemon have pushed my Pikachu back over the last two years," Ash complimented the gym leader as the opposing pokemon glared at Pikachu, "this should be fun," Ash declared while clenching his fist in joy.

"Wow those two are evenly matched," Dawn pointed out in amazement while the two trainers waited for a chance to make the next move.

"Eelektross attack with Rock Slide," Elesa ordered her pokemon with certainty.

Ash waited for the chance to counter while a large avalanche of boulders started to rush towards the electric mouse, "Iron Tail to push them back," Ash ordered his pokemon quickly and without hesitation, the small electric pokemon ran through the boulders knocking some away with his tail with incredicle skill, the electric mouse then charged towards Eelektross ready to attack, "now attack with Volt Tackle!" Ash yelled out for another attack.

"Yeah right, Eelektross, show them Wild Charge," Elesa commanded with great assurance.

The two pokemon charged at one another with a thunderous aura coming from each pokemon, the two pokemon collided in the middle of the battlefield causing bolts of lightning to fly in every direction, the two combatants flew away from the impact zone hitting the ground from the powerful attacks, "Pikachu are you alright buddy?" Ash asked his pokemon nervously.

The small pokemon jumped up and waited to see what would happen next, "well done Ash, that battle was most electrifying," Elesa said while recalling her pokemon, the woman walked over to Ash and presented him with the badge, "I can't believe how good you are," Elesa stated while Ash took the badge from her hand.

Dawn ran towards Ash, "well done Ash, even Meloetta was cheering… for you," Dawn said with confidence while pointing over to an empty seat, "oh come on where did Meloetta go to now?" Dawn asked in disbelief causing Ash to laugh for a moment.

"No need to worry Dawn, now that my battle is over, how about we go on that Ferris Wheel tonight?" Ash asked causing Dawn to stare at the trainer with her mouth agape.

Dawn quickly came to her sense and nodded before running out of the gym, "hurry up Ash, we don't have all night," Dawn demanded while Ash lowered his head with a chuckle.

Ash quickly followed Dawn towards the Ferris Wheel while being watched by Meloetta from a distance, the melody pokemon slowly moved towards the couple not wanting to be seen by the duo, "oh come on Dawn, can I heal my pokemon first?" Ash asked in protest but Dawn grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the amusement.

"I finally found a goal Ash, I want to introduce contests to this region," Dawn declared with joy as the two stood in line.

"Yeah that's great Dawn, but my pokemon went through a tough battle," Ash complained while the line got shorter.

Ash and Dawn made it into the ride while Meloetta was watching from a distance, the small pokemon want invisible so it could get closer, "you know Ash, apart from my pokemon, I think Meloetta would make a great contest partner," Dawn chimed in happily while Meloetta watch them enter the ride.

"Yes but Dawn, Meloetta is a legendary pokemon, they are best allowed to roam free," Ash commented but Dawn remained uninterested.

"I know Ash, but I think Meloetta would be a great friend," Dawn replied while taking a seat inside the cabin with Ash taking a seat next to her, Dawn moved closer resting her head on the trainer's shoulder, "it's about time we did something like this," Dawn quietly told the trainer while closing her eyes.

"Yeah I know, the sunset is amazing," Ash remarked while watching the setting sun with Dawn sitting next to him, "so how do you intend to get Unova to know about contests?" Ash asked but Dawn became more interested in spending this time with Ash.

"No need to worry Ash, I will find a way," Dawn replied blissfully as the ride came to an end, Ash pulled out his money and handed some of it to the attendant, "what you want us to stay in here for a while?" Dawn asked with great surprise.

Ash nodded and placed his right arm around Dawn, "yeah, to see the rest of Nimbasa City before we continue on with our journey," Ash replied while looking up to see the inky sky getting dotted with small white dots and the large white moon.

"Thank you Ash," Dawn replied sweetly while the couple continued to stay in the compartment enjoying the scenery together.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed this one, the reason why this one was released a little later was because I have been pretty busy of late, and it will not be getting any quieter for me.**

**Yes I thought Meloetta would make an interesting addition to the story, but unlike the anime, I will be keeping this legendary pokemon in the story but as a recurring character.**

**How will Dawn introduce Contests to Unova? What role will Meloetta play in future chapters?**

**Next time chapter 11: Plasma strikes back**


	11. Plasma Strikes Back

**Chapter 11: Plasma Strikes Back.**

_I hope you all enjoy this sweet little chapter, Team Plasma will start to become more antagonistic as of this chapter I hope._

_May: 17_

* * *

Dawn woke up after the long night's sleep, she sat up stretched out her arms and yawned before rubbing her eyes, she got out of bed and walked to the window to open the curtains to see what kind of day it was, she looked up to see the grey clouds rolling in and the rain falling in the fields, she heard a knock from her door, "wait up, I am getting ready!" Dawn yelled out as she walked over to her bed to pick up her clothes.

Ash stood outside the room with his arms crossed wondering why Dawn as taking so long, "same as always," Ash commented with a smirk.

"I heard that Ash!" Dawn yelled out causing the trainer to laugh.

Ash waited for a while longer thinking about where the next destination was, "you know buddy, I hope the next city will have a gym," Ash hoped while leaning on the wall next to Dawn's room. "I think we are rushing this challenge too much, I am wondering if Dawn is having a good time traveling with us," Ash wondered to himself while hearing Dawn singing as she was getting ready to while the trainer was feeling guilty about Dawn find her ambition so late in their journey, 'she seems happy but I think she is hiding it,' Ash thought as the door of Dawn's room opened up.

Dawn walked out of the room with her backpack and holding an umbrella, "so Ash, are we heading out into the rain?" Dawn asked the trainer while walking down the hall with their pokemon walking in front of them. Dawn saw Ash's expression noticing that he wasn't his normal self, "hey what's the matter?" Dawn asked with a smile.

Ash jolted his head up after hearing Dawn's question, "am I holding you back from following your goal in this region?" Ash asked with guilt written in his eyes.

Dawn gasped for a moment and placed her left hand over her mouth, "what do you mean Ash?" Dawn asked in shock.

"What I mean Dawn, is that we have only done what I wanted to do," Ash replied while looking to the ground, before looking away from the lady standing next to him, "when you said that you wanted to introduce contests to this region, I suddenly felt like I was the one holding you back," Ash commented much to the bluenette's surprise. Ash stopped in the middle of the hall with his fists clenched in anger towards himself.

Dawn looked back to see the trainer feeling guilty about the lack of interest in Dawn's journey, "you aren't holding me back Ash," Dawn replied as Ash continued to look down at the ground.

"Why do you say that? I know you want to do something, you are missing out on so much all because I want my rematch against Tobias," Ash replied while the two pokemon watched the bluenette walk up to the trainer.

Dawn raised her hand and slapped the trainer much to Pikachu's and Pilup's surprise, "you listen up Ash, I am travelling with you because I want to," Dawn told the raven haired trainer, she kept her hand firmly on his face as he looked into her bright blue eyes shocked at what was happening, "if you want me to do something so badly then let me take your place in the next gym battle," Dawn suggested confidently as she started to remove her hand from her boyfriend's face, "other than that, you better stop and think about the fact that I was waiting for you for two long years, two years of training and not participating in contests," Dawn explained much to Ash's shock.

"Why didn't you compete?" Ash asked while moving his hand up to Dawn's left hand.

"Because you weren't there to cheer me on, competing without your support wouldn't have been the same," Dawn replied as tears started to flow from her face.

Ash grasped Dawn's hand and closed his eyes for a moment, "I never realized that," Ash commented while thinking about the times the two traveled with Brock back in Sinnoh. "You know Dawn, while I was off training there was one person I was thinking about," Ash said while starting to smile, "hoping she as doing well in her contests, only to find now that she wasn't competing," Ash stated while Dawn listened with intent.

"Stop it Ash, you're making me blush," Dawn confessed while she giggled at the trainers comment.

"Dawn, I never said anything about what my training was like at Mt. Silver," Ash remarked while the two commenced their walk back to the main foyer.

The couple looked outside to see the dark clouds hovering in the sky with the rain falling hard and fast, "I think we can wait until the storm clears up," Dawn sighed while taking a seat and placing her chin in both her hands with her elbows on the table, "now Ash please tell me all about your trainer," Dawn requested with great interest while her Piplup rested next to her.

Ash sighed for a moment as the girl smiled at him, "fine but only until the storm clears up," Ash said with a chuckle.

Ash took the seat opposite Dawn and started to stroke his chin with his right hand, "now you know about me capturing Riolu right?" Ash asked the female making her nod in approval, "how about the time I went to watch the Johto Grand Festival, one that May was competing in?" Ash questioned much to her disappointment, "I was having a little break from my training when I decided to watch the Grand Festival," Ash commented.

_Flashback_

Walking towards the Grand Festival was a trainer with a black hooded jacket with black jeans, he had his Pikachu following him looking around to see the coordinators making the final preparations to their show, "oh man I would have thought Dawn would be here by now," he said while looking around again, he noticed female with short brown hair wearing mostly red preparing her Glaceon for the Grand Festival, "seems like May is competing," Ash said with a proud smile, he looked around again to find that Dawn wasn't around.

The trainer walked closer to find out what May was saying, he hid behind a tree to make sure he wasn't seen, "you know Glaceon, Dawn is totally upset with Ash, she contacted me a few days ago to ask me if I had seen him around," May commented much to the trainers shock, the brunette looked around to see a male behind a tree, she scowled at him and picked up a stone, she threw it at the trainer causing him to scream out in pain, "hey I know that cry," May commented as she gave chase to the person who was running away from her, she looked to the other side of the road and noticed a small yellow pokemon, "is that Ash?" May asked herself while increasing the pace of her pursuit of the trainer.

"Oh man, she is more persistent than ever," Ash complained while looking back to see the brunette gaining on him.

"Wait up Ash, don't hide from me!" May yelled out as she heard the fireworks exploding in the background, "I don't have time for this Ash," May called out as she tackled Ash to the ground.

Ash pulled off the hood that was covering his face and looked at his friend with guilt, "May, why aren't you getting ready to compete?" Ash asked while looking away.

"Ash, what are you doing? Dawn and your mother are very upset with you," May retorted in anger as she got back up to allow her friend to stand on his own two feet, "they said you have been gone for nearly two years Ash," May explained the length of time that he had been gone much to his surprise.

"Two years? No way I thought it had been at least a year," Ash replied in shock with guilt started to creep in.

"No you fool, Dawn is wondering if you're alive or not," May replied in anger as she showed her friend a small brown pokemon which was walking over to him, "seems like my new Eevee has taken a liking to you," May said with a smile before handing Eevee's pokeball to Ash, "here Ash, please take good care of it," May requested with a smile before turning around.

"May, please don't say anything, I will head back to Pallet Town very soon," Ash commented while recalling his new pokemon.

"Ash, I know why you're heading back, you need to tell her how you feel," May instructed the trainer while walking back towards the Grand Festival, "the truth is, Dawn loves you, not because you suffered an embarrassing defeat, but because of who you are as a person," May said while scratching her head with a cheeky smile, "I should know a thing or two about embarrassing defeats, but it doesn't stop me from picking myself up and trying again," May commented with pride, "now go home and kiss Dawn, because if you don't I will come down to your place or where ever you are and beat you up," May said with a cheeky grin before hearing the fireworks end, "oh crud the Grand Festival is about to start," May said in a panic before heading back to the festival.

"May good luck, I hope you win!" Ash yelled out his support to his friend. He turned around to see the sun setting over the mountain, he looked down towards his partner pokemon and nodded happily, "you know something buddy? It's time for us to go home," Ash said before walking off with his partner pokemon, 'May I promise to kiss Dawn,' Ash thought with a chuckle while walking away from the festivities.

_Return from flashback_

"About two weeks later Eevee evolved into Espeon during a battle against a Larvitar," Ash explained with a smile while picking up some food from his plate, "I caught the Larvitar, but never had the chance to use it," Ash pointed out before stuffing his face with the food in his right hand.

Dawn watched Ash eating his food before an idea popped into her mind, "Ash, I am going to ring a few people," Dawn declared her intentions before walking off towards the phones of the Pokemon Center, she looked back to see that Ash was still busy with his meal, she sat down and pressed in a few numbers before pressing call.

Appearing on the video was an older woman with short blue hair and a warm smile, "oh hello Dawn, it's been a while," she said happily while Glameow walked in front of the screen.

"Hello mom, sorry I haven't called in a while, I have been pretty busy," Dawn professed while scratching the back of her head nervously, "I have been travelling with Ash again."

"So Ash is back, that's good, I was so worried that he might have done something reckless," Johanna state with a sigh as she was petting her cat like pokemon, "so how have your contests gone so far?" Johanna asked her daughter with pride.

Dawn looked down with a frown, "mom there are no contests here in the Unova region, so I have been thinking of introducing contests to this region, but I cannot do it alone," Dawn explained to her mother causing Johanna to nod in approval, "I was wondering mom if you would want to help me out," Dawn suggested but her mother shook her head in disapproval, "why mom?" Dawn asked in shock.

"Because, I have retired from contests, it would also be better for you to get help from people in your age group," Johanna explained while her daughter before hearing the kettle whistling in the background, "I have some stuff I need to do," Johanna said while seeing Ash in the background, "good luck on your plans to introduce contests in Unova, I hope to hear from you soon to hear how it's going," Johanna decreed while her daughter said her farewells.

The two ended the call allowing Dawn to call one of her friends, she pressed in the numbers , "I wonder if May is home at the moment," Dawn wondered out loud before hearing Ash approaching her, after a long time of ringing a female with short brown hair appeared on the phone, "May, nice to see you again," Dawn greeted her friend happily.

"Dawn, nice to hear from you again," May greeted her friend while looking up to see Ash, "so Ash you finally made it back home, you had better heeded my threat," May said as she clenched her fist in front of the screen.

Ash jumped back a little, 'oh man I hope she doesn't jump out of the screen,' Ash thought while chuckling a little, "yeah, I did listen to you May, at least I don't have to worry about getting beaten up by you," Ash joked while his Pikachu jumped on his shoulder.

"You know May, Ash and me are going out now," Dawn said with excitement causing May to celebrate for a moment.

The two watched May jump around in joy, "at long last, so when the wedding happens can I be the bridesmaid?" May asked causing the couple to blush heavily.

Ash and Dawn looked at one another in shock, "oh come on May, we haven't thought that far ahead," Ash and Dawn stated in unison causing May to giggle at the two, "plus we are both travelling in Unova now," the two continued word for word.

May watched in amazement, "yeah, saying the same thing in unison, might as be married right now," May continued to joke before the call was closed off causing May to panic, "oh come on I was only jokng," May stated in anger.

Meanwhile back in the Pokemon Center Ash and Dawn looked around as the lights went out, 'this is just great I was going to ask May to help me out with something,' Dawn thought while looking around to find some of the people panicking about the instant power outage, "there is something not right about this," Dawn looked over to Ash as the storm outside started to clear.

"Yes I know, even if the power was taken out by the storm a generator should have at least kick in by now," Ash pointed out while looking around to find out where the trouble was coming from, the two walked outside the medical facility to find that there was no one around, "this is odd," Ash commented while investigating around the corner with Dawn following close behind. Ash spotted a person near the back door of the Pokemon Center who was exiting from the area, "hey you, what are you doing?!" Ash yelled out to the person who turned around with a menacing smirk on his face, it was then that Ash spotted a Team Plasma insignia on the person's uniform, "Dawn, that's a member of Team Plasma," Ash pointed out with in irritation.

"I see, but why is this one alone?" Dawn asked curiously before the two heard an explosion at the entrance of the medical facility.

"Our boss would have hated for something to happen to you early in the play," the plasma grunt replied before running away from the duo leaving them perplexed at his words.

Ash and Dawn looked at one another before turning around to find that a group of plasma's storming the Pokemon Center, "why did they lure us out?" Ash asked in frustration before pulling out his pokeball, "why are they attacking a Pokemon Center?" Ash asked while getting ready to throw out his pokeball to fight off Team Plasma.

"Because like three years ago, they are trying to make sure they are the only ones with pokemon," a familiar voice told the duo before approaching them, "plus I want to see the potential of Team Plasma," Colress stated while he clicked his fingers to signal a large pokemon with magnets to prevent him from moving, "I cannot let you get in the way of our plans," he declared while laughing at the two trainers.

"Attacking a Pokemon Center, that's a coward's move!" Ash yelled out while being held back by Dawn to prevent him from getting hurt.

"Ash, I will help out at the Pokemon Center, you deal with this guy," Dawn whispered to Ash before running off and leaving the trainer to deal with the Plasma scientist.

"Pikachu, go and help Dawn out, I will be fine here," Ash instructed his pokemon while glaring at he plasma professor.

"Seems like your girlfriend is going to leave you to face me alone," Colress stated while Ash got ready to battle the Plasma member, "would have been better of double teaming me," he said with arrogance.

"Don't get over confident, I am much stronger than you think," Ash replied with an assured smile, "Charizard, I choose you," Ash called for his large orange pokemon to battle against the plasma.

"Ah, one of your strongest pokemon," Colress stated while his Magnazone got ready to attack, "remember I am a very experienced trainer as well," Colress pointed out as the two trainers started glaring at one another, "also there is a reason why we are attacking the Pokemon Center," Colress proclaimed while the two pokemon started to prepare for the battle.

"Why would you do that? Yes you lured Dawn and me out of there, but why?!" Ash yelled out with fists clenched in rage.

"Because our real target is Meloetta, we can use that unique voice to make people release their pokemon," Colress replied with a smile as he got ready to battle the trainer, "Magnazone attack with Discharge," Colress issued his command calmly.

"Charizard, return the favor with Flamethrower," Ash instructed his pokemon with confidence, the large winged pokemon unleashed a powerful burst of flames at the steel type pokemon which released a powerful burst of electricity, the two attacks met in the middle of the battlefield pushing the two trainers away from the pokemon. Ash looked up to see the two pokemon remaining on the same spot, he was shocked to see Colress walking up to his pokemon with a sinister grin, "no way, I didn't even hit his pokemon," Ash commented in disbelief.

"Amazing, it seems like your Charizard is almost at his full potential," Colress taunted the trainer and his pokemon maintaining his cool. "Magnazone attack with Thunderbolt," Colress ordered with certainty, the magnet zone pokemon unleashed a powerful current of electricity at the powerful fire type pokemon.

"Charizard quickly dodge the attack then use Flamethrower again," Ash replied to Colress' attack, the fire type unleashed a powerful flurry of flames at the steel type pokemon only to be met with the same result as the previous attack, Ash gritted his teeth in frustration, 'just what is his deal?' Ash wondered while looking over to his winged pokemon, 'I thought Charizard would easily handle this guy, but he is hold his own even with a steel type,' Ash thought with a grimace wondering how to battle the scientist in front of him.

"Seems like you're getting frustrated in this battle, the top trainers in Team Plasma are far above the Elite Four's level in power," Colress explained with a dark grin while his Magnazone hovered ready to attack again, "it's useless to attack me head on," Colress stated with heightening confidence.

"Well then, time to see what happens if my Charizard attacks from behind," Ash declared before his pokemon roared loudly, Charizard flapped his wings and flew around the magnet zone pokemon, "now attack with Overheat," Ash ordered quickly.

"Not a bad move, but you still need to do better than that," Colress pointed out while laughing at the trainer as his pokemon quickly turned around to face the powerful fire type move, "defend yourself with Discharge," Colress instructed his pokemon with supreme confidence, his pokemon used a powerful electric attack again this time hitting the fire type pokemon before he could release the devastating fire type move, "I told you to be careful," Colress said with a smirk.

Ash gritted his teeth in frustration knowing while trying to figure out what to do next, he recalled his Charizard and got ready to make his counter attack, 'so Charizard was having a problem with this guy, this is not good, I don't want to know how strong the main boss is,' Ash thought while looking at his next pokeball.

"You do want to know a bit about Team Plasma do you, well you will need to defeat me first," Colress decreed while smirking arrogantly at the trainer. The professor started to taunt the trainer, "if you want to defeat me, battle me with your best," Colress instructed the trainer calmly.

Ash slowly calmed down and took a deep breath, 'okay so this guy is using an electric type pokemon,' Ash thought while refocusing on the battle at hand, 'I hope Dawn is doing alright,' Ash's thought trailed off to the bluenette who as battling inside the medical facility, "Garchomp, I choose you," Ash called out his dragon type pokemon while getting ready to restart the battle. "alright Garchomp shake things up with Earthquake," Ash told his mighty dragon type pokemon with confidence.

'Not a bad choice of attack, however he still lacks the potential to awaken Reshiram,' Colress thought as the attack slammed into his Magnazone, "alright return Magnazone, now go Klinklang," Colress said while calling out his next pokemon, this time hovering in front of the mighty land shark was a pokemon with moving gears, "Klinklang attack with Grind Gear," Colress issued his command confidently.

"No way," Ash yelled out while swinging his left arm outwards, "Garchomp, attack with Dragon Claw," Ash instructed his dragon type pokemon.

The two pokemon charged at one another glowing as they got ready to hit their respective attacks, the two pokemon clashed into one another but the steel type was sent flying away from the land shark pokemon, 'not bad, his two pokemon are amazing,' Colress thought while thinking about what he needed to do next, he picked up his pokeball and recalled his pokemon, "it seems like you have bested me for now," Colress said while lifting his right arm up.

Ash turned around to see the Pokemon Center bursting with flames, "no Dawn, I am coming for you!" Ash yelled out before being stopped by the same man he met in the Desert Resort, "N, what are you doing?" Ash asked in anger.

"She is fine, while you kept Colress busy, she managed to get the people out before Team Plasma set the place on fire, sadly they took the pokemon from the center including pokemon from trainers," N explained while looking up to see Colress bursting out into laughter, "what does my father want from these stolen pokemon?" N asked angrily while clenching his fists unable to contain his rage.

"Nothing much, just the power of Kyurem, as well as the melodies of Meloetta who just so happens to be in the area right now," Colress explained while pointing over to the trees showing a small pokemon with long green hair, "the melodies to make people listen, Kyurem to force people to release their pokemon, either way we will get what we want," Colress told N with a smug look on his face.

"My father doesn't get it, when I was defeated by Hilda and Hilbert, I learnt to look at the connection the people and pokemon can share," N explained while Ash listened with intent, "much like when two people share a connection," N stated while Dawn called over to Ash while running towards him.

The bluenette embraced Ash tearfully, "I am sorry Ash, I couldn't help save the pokemon," Dawn apologized while crying at the defeat she had suffered from Team Plasma.

N looked over to his new friends with a smile, "these two like Hilda and Hilbert share a very strong bond, much like they do with their pokemon," N said while calling out his large black pokemon, "I am certain you have met Zekrom before," N decreed while the intimidating dragon unleashed a powerful roar.

"Master Ghetsis, the Shadow Triad and the rest of Team Plasma will test those bonds, between people and pokemon," Colress decreed while walking off from the battle against Ash.

"N, what is going on?" Ash asked the person standing next to him.

"I am a former member of Team Plasma, but that all changed when I was defeated by Hilda and Hilbert," N replied with a smile, "after my defeat, I went out for some soul searching," N stated while recalling his large dragon type pokemon, he walked towards the eastern side of the city before turning around to see Dawn grasping Ash's arm, "you know something, you two have a lot in common with Hilda and Hilbert," N stated proudly before getting ready to leave the city, 'they will meet Hilda and Hilbert very soon,' N thought while remembering the day of his defeat.

"What a strange man," Ash said as he watched the former Plasma walking further away from the city.

Meanwhile from a distance away Meloetta was watching Ash and Dawn preparing to take the western road to their next destination, the legendary pokemon became invisible and followed the two out of the city without being noticed by the people, "When we reach the next city, I want you to battle me," Dawn said happily before she gasped for a moment, "I forgot to ring May back," Dawn said with great disappointment.

"No need to worry Dawn, you can ring her up in the next city's Pokemon Center," Ash replied before reaching the exit of the city.

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter, I thought making Team Plasma a threat would make it worthwhile instead of having an easy road to the Unova League by thrashing the gym leaders.**

**Next chapter I will be giving Dawn some new pokemon, it has been a while since I have let Dawn capture a pokemon.**

**Next time chapter 12: Return of the Dream Team.**


	12. Return of the Dream Team

**Chapter 12: return of the dream team.**

_Sorry this one took so long, I had to re-write this chapter because just as I was about to upload this chapter my Laptop died on me, so here it is._

_Hilda: 16_

_Hilbert: 17_

Ash and Dawn walked out of Nimbasa City towards a tree lined route, people walking around and pokemon resting in the grass. The cool breeze coming in from the west causing the trees to sway slightly, "what a beautiful day," Dawn chimed in blissfully while stretching her arms out, she looked around to find more pokemon walking around the route until she spotted a mostly green pokemon with black eyes anda red patched between its eyes.

"Ha that's my pokemon, go Servine," a female voice called out, a green serpent like pokemon appeared in front of the blue haired teenager.

The bluenette turned around in anger, her fists clenched and Piplup getting ready to battle, "I saw that pokemon first, so rightfully it's my pokemon to capture," Dawn replied to a girl about her age wearing denim shorts, a white blouse and hat and a black vest, "find another one like it," Dawn told the woman.

"No way, I have wanted to capture this pokemon for a while," the brunette replied while walking up to the Sinnoh native.

Ash ran up to the fighting girls and pointed to the pokemon, "well there is no need for you to fight anymore, the pokemon has already left," Ash explained with a nervous smile, the two girls crossed their arms and turned away, Ash sighed in disbelief before noticing another teen approaching them, a male wearing identical clothes as he was, but he had spikey brown hair.

He approached his girlfriend with a disappointed expression, "Hilda, why would you go out of your way to prevent someone from capturing a pokemon they saw before you?" the young man asked while shrugging his shoulders.

"Hilbert, you know I want to capture a Solosis," the young girl replied with a frown.

Ash quickly pulled a photo from his pocket to compare the people in front of him, he showed the picture to Dawn for a moment, "what do you think?" Ash whispered to Dawn while the two continued to argue amongst themselves.

"Excuse me, but would you by any chance be the same Hilda and Hilbert that defeated Team Plasma two years ago?" Dawn asked the two people.

"Yes we are, but if you're looking for an autograph we don't do them," Hilbert said jokingly as he looked up to the approaching trainer. He noticed that he had taken his back pack and put his left hand inside, "I sense something about him," Hilbert whispered to himself, much to the brown haired trainer's surprise Ash had pulled out the light stone from his bag, "when did you find the light stone?" he asked with great surprise.

"First I will introduce myself, my name is Ash Ketchum," Ash introduced himself to the Unova natives. Ash placed the item back in his backpack before Hilda was face to face with him, "my name is Ash," Ash introduced himself to the brunette.

Hilda gasped after hearing the trainer introduce himself, she couldn't believe that she was in the presence of Ash, "no way, I am meeting Ash Ketchum?" Hilda asked in excitement, she pushed Dawn aside and pulled out a scrapbook from her back, "wow it's really you, you're more handsome in person than you are on TV," Hilda continued with great delight.

Dawn tried to pick herself up after being pushed to the ground, "sounds like she has a crush on my boyfriend," Dawn hissed in jealousy, she watched while Ash tried to get to her but was being stopped by the brunette who was asking for his signature.

"Well that's Hilda for you, when she meets her idols she forgets that I am around," Hilbert said while chuckling at Ash who was trying to get to Dawn, "you're right about one thing, Hilda does have a crush on Ash," Hilbert said with disappointment.

"My name is Dawn Berlitz," the coordinator introduced herself to Hilbert, in that moment Hilbert was pushed aside by Hilda who pulled out another scrapbook this time with pictures of Dawn, "so you idolise me as well?" Dawn questioned the brown haired teen with an uneasy smile. Dawn watched as her fan nodded with great joy, "I guess everyone has their fans," Dawn sighed while grabbing the brunette's pen to give her fan an autograph.

"Yes I finally have Ash's and Dawn's autograph!" Hilda cheered loudly, she ran up to Hilbert who had gotten up after being pushed to the ground, "look Hilbert I have Ash's and Dawn's autograph," Hilda told Hilbert frantically, she showed the scrapbook to Hilbert and the autographs, "I guess that must mean Ash and me will be together," Hilda stated while grasping the scrapbook of Ash close to her.

Hilbert looked up and smirked, "I wouldn't bet on it, look behind you," Hilbert told the overexcited teen.

Hilda turned around to see Ash and Dawn walking away while holding hands, "my two idols are going out?" Hilda asked in disappointment, "you two wait there," Hilda demanded, she pointed to the couple and pulled out another pokeball ready to battle, "Hilbert and me challenge you to a double battle," Hilda demanded with a smirk.

"Um Hilda, I never said I would battle today, it's sort of my day off," Hilbert complained, he let out a long drawn sigh while walking up to the young woman.

Ash and Dawn nodded in confidence as they picked one of their pokeballs ready to face their opponents, "fine we will accept your challenge," Ash and Dawn accepted the battle in unison.

Hilda smirked for a moment as she looked at her new foes, "alright I have one condition," Hilda cheekily pointed out while calling out her Servine.

"Not this again Hilda, surely you're not going to make this condition again," Hilbert protested while hitting his head with his left hand.

"Come on Hilbert isn't like we are going to lose to these two, we have never been beaten in a double battle," Hilda assured the trainer with a playful grin, "if you two lose, you Ash will go on a date with me," Hilda called the condition to the battle much to the dismay of Hilbert who was shaking his head in disbelief.

"I am Sorry Hilda but I cannot accept those conditions, unless you help Dawn capture a Solosis when you lose," Ash replied with a smile while his Pikachu got ready to jump into the battle, "you know me and Dawn have only lost one double battle," Ash explained with confidence while nodding at his Pikachu to get into the battle.

"Yeah that's right Ash and I will never lose to you," Dawn declared with supreme assurance, her Piplup jumped onto the battlefield with Ash's Pikachu, the two pokemon got ready to battle, "plus Ash is dating me," Dawn decreed with pride while her Piplup puffed up his chest to show his pride.

"Alright, time to go Emboar," Hilbert called out a large fire type pokemon with a fiery beard orange legs and a brown upper body, as the female next to him called out Servine for the battle, 'I better lose this battle for us or Hilda will do something she regrets later,' Hilbert thought while nodding at his opponents.

"Dawn, it seems like Hilbert is going to lose this battle deliberately," Ash whispered to his girlfriend, making sure Hilda didn't hear him, Dawn nodded with a show of confidence ready to face the battle, "Pikachu, start things off with Thunderbolt," Ash issued his command to start the battle.

"Piplup follow it up with with Ice Beam," Dawn instructed with the follow up attack.

Hilbert stood there pretending to think about what to do much to the annoyance of Hilda, "Hilbert hurry up and come up with an attack," Hilda demanded with frustration.

"Okay Emboar attack with Arm Thrust," Hilbert called out with a careless smile, "no my Emboar doesn't know that attack, how about Flare Blitz, no he doesn't know that either," Hilbert explained much the chagrin of the brunette and the pleasure of the opposing trainers, "oh I got it now," Hilbert said but it was too late his pokemon and Servine were hit by the two powerful attacks dealing significant damage to the opposing pokemon.

"You did that on purpose," Hilda complained, Ash and Dawn burst out into laughter knowing what was going on, "hey that's not funny you two," Hilda grumbled while looking at her pokemon.

"Come Pikachu, there is no need to battle now," Ash said still laughing, his partner pokemon jumped on his master's left shoulder while Dawn signalled for Piplup to return, "you weren't going to win Hilda, Hilbert was planning on losing the battle on purpose to make sure that ante you made wouldn't happen," Ash explained while walking away, Hilda looked to the ground in guilt while looking at the scrapbooks of her idols, "we appreciate the fact you're big fans of us Hilda, but I think you better keep that way," Ash said thankfully.

Dawn turned around to kneel down to collect the pictures that had fallen from the scrapbook, it was then she noticed a picture of Ash and Dawn's first date, "when did you take this?" Dawn asked in shock, she looked at the photo and smiled.

Hilda turned her focus towards the picture in Dawn's hand, "I took this when I saw you both at the theme park of Nimbasa City," Hilda retorted with a smile as she looked away to see the Ferris Wheel in the distance, "I really wanted to hang out with you both, but Hilbert was too lazy to even get out of the restaurant," Hilda berated her boyfriend, Dawn started another fit of laughter after hearing how much Hilbert had in common with Ash.

"Ash is the same way when it comes to food," Dawn remarked much to her love's horror.

"I am not that bad Dawn," Ash stated in his defence. "Hilda, if you wanted to hang out with us, you should just ask us, instead of forcing it on us," Ash told the brunette while picking up a photo of Ash's defeat at the Sinnoh league. "Two years ago I failed to defeat Darkrai and Latios in a full battle," Ash said with a frown while staring at the photo for a moment , thinking about what he could have done differently, remembering the support Dawn had given him, he turned his gaze to Dawn who was still talking to Hilda, 'I never really thanked her for the support she has given me, maybe one day I will find her something nice to express my gratitude,' Ash thought to himself.

Ash walked off while hearing the breeze sway the trees around and the pokemon calling out to one another, "you know Ash, I am sorry for earlier, Hilda was so excited to meet the both of you that she had forgotten that you're already with Dawn and has forgets that she is with me, but she has been waiting to meet you both, " Hilbert chuckled while he watched Ash pulling out a the light stone from his bag, he sat down next to his Kanto counterpart and watched flying pokemon flying across the bright blue sky. "I asked a little earlier but when did you find the Light Stone?" Hilbert asked the trainer next to him.

Ash stared at the stone for a moment and thought about the battle in Castelia City, "we were in the midst of a battle against Team Plasma," Ash replied calmly, Hilbert heard the revelation of Team Plasma's return and stepped back from Ash. Ash walked towards the river front and sat down to hear the water flowing serenely with the water pokemon moving through the water peacefully, "we thought they were beaten by you and Hilda couple of years ago as well, that was what Alder told us," Ash wondered while staring at the stone that was still remaining in the shape.

"So you met our good friend Alder?" Hilbert enquired with a smirk, Ash nodded quietly as he placed the stone in his backpack, Hilbert got back to his, "also please don't take what Hilda said seriously, she gets really excited when she meets famous people," Hilbert requested as he turned away.

"I knew that, she does seem like a handful for you," Ash laughed at his new friend.

Hilbert started to laugh at the trainer's comment and nodded, "yeah, she is really full of energy, but she is great to be with," Hilbert said while walking away.

Ash stood up and started walking towards the bluenette, Ash placed his left hand on her right shoulder and nodded, "hey before we go to Driftveil City how about another double battle? This time there will be no bets, just for the enjoyment of it," Ash requested confidently.

Hilbert and Hilda turned their eyes to one another and nodded in approval, "we accept, but this time I will not be holding back," Hilbert promised, while looking over to Hilda who was showing more determination for the chance to battle. After a moment of silence between the two teams Hilbert and Hilda chose a pokeball each ready to face Ash and Dawn, "Braviary, time to batte," Hilbert called out a mostly red pokemon with large wings and piercing eyes.

"Alomomola, it is show time," Hilda called forth a large pink pokemon shaped like a large heart.

"Zorua, I choose you," Ash replied with his newer pokemon.

"Buneary spotlight," Dawn called out her last remaining pokemon. Dawn turned her focus to Ash and nodded, "time to show them what our team is really capable of," Dawn decreed while looking over to her eager pokemon while the small black fox looked on nervously.

"Alright Brav, show them your Crush Claw," Hilbert instructed his flying type, the eagle like pokemon flew towards the two pokemon who were waiting for the attacking pokemon to get closer.

"Zorua, attack with Dark Pulse," Ash called for the counter attack.

"Buneary show them your Ice Beam," Dawn instructed her pokemon with great confidence.

"Not so fast you two, Alomomola, use Protect to keep Brav safe," Hilda commanded with equal confidence, the caring pokemon leapt in on the flying type pokemon and sent out a powerful barrier to keep the valiant pokemon safe. Ash's and Dawn's pokemon leapt back to avoid the incoming attack, "not bad ha, just too bad our previous battle wasn't as good as this one," Hilda pointed out while her pokemon fell back towards her.

"Ash, these two have experience in tag battles," Dawn pointed out with a smirk.

"Hilda is the defence of the team," Ash pointed out while he watched the opposing pokemon getting ready to unleash their next attack, "I will leave Brav to you, I will keep Hilda's Alomomola, away from him," Ash whispered the plan to Dawn, the bluenette nodded in approval and got ready to command for the next attack.

"Brav, attack with Wing Attack," Hilbert issued his instructions to the mighty flying type pokemon, the large eagle flew towards the opposing pokemon.

"Buneary attack with dodge the attack," Dawn instructed her pokemon to dodge at the same time Ash made his instruction to dodge Brav, "now Buneary show them your Dizzy Punch," Dawn barked out her next instruction.

"Nice try Dawn, hold them back with Protect," Hilda instructed her pokemon confidently.

"Not this time Hilda, Zorua, keep Alomomola away from Brav with Night Slash," Ash called for the counted, the tricky fox pokemon charged towards the large pink pokemon with dark claws extending from its paws, Zorua stopped the defensive manoeuvre from taking hold while Dawn's Buneary landed two powerful punches with her ears knocking the valiant pokemon back towards Hilbert.

"Not bad these two make a really good team," Hilbert complimented the two trainers in front of him.

"Yeah this battle is great," Hilda pointed out while glancing over towards Ash and Dawn, "Alomomola, attack with Aqua Jet," Hilda called out for her attack.

"Brav, Take Zorua into the air with Sky Drop," Hilbert commanded his pokemon, the two pokemon flew towards the respective opposing pokemon, the caring pokemon surrounded with water and Brav with his talons extended out.

"Dodge it now," Ash and Dawn called out to their pokemon in unison while extending their arms out and standing closer together, Buneary successfully dodged the attack but Brav proved too quick for the tricky fox pokemon.

Ash watched in shock as his pokemon was lifted high into the air, "Zorua, break free, use Dark Pulse," Ash commanded but the small pokemon was looking down towards the ground, the small pokemon panicked as the height it was at became all to obvious, it tried to break free but the talons had a tight grip on the pokemon.

"Buneary help Zorua with Bounce," Dawn instructed her pokemon with certainty, the rabbit like pokemon jumped high in to the air until she was higher than, "now bring Brav down," Dawn instructed her pokemon with confidence much to the shock of her two opponents.

"I can't let those three get hurt, Alomomola, get ready to use Protect," Hilda instructed her pokemon with confidence, the small pokemon smashed down on the valiant pokemon which forced him to loosen his grip on the dark type pokemon, the three pokemon spiralled to the ground while the caring pokemon got beneath them and prepared to cast a protective barrier over the it, the pokemon crashed down on the barrier and bounced off, Brav got hurt on impact while Buneary and Zorua landed safely after hitting the green barrier.

"Brav no," Hilbert called out to his fallen pokemon, Hilda looked over to her partner and nodded, "well I better tend to Brav, that was a great battle you two, this time I can say you earned your victory," Hilbert acknowledged with pride, he walked over to his flying type pokemon happy with the effort his pokemon put in the battle.

Ash and Dawn raised their hands into the air and gave each other a high five joyfully celebrating the win they had earned, "wait hold that pose," Hilda called over to the couple before a powerful flash emanated from her camera, Ï think this would be perfect for a new scrapbook, what should I call it?" Hilda asked herself while Ash and Dawn lowered their hands and started walking up to the brunette, "oh before I continue to think about the name, I have to apologize for earlier, I was really excited when I got the chance to meet you both, I was unable to contain my joy at meeting you," Hilda pointed out while scratching the back of her head.

"No need to worry Hilda, Ash and I have been surrounded by lots of fans since we got here, first Rosa, plus a massive crowd in Castelia," Dawn assured the brunette before she called out her grass type pokemon, she pointed over to the small green pokemon, "hey what are you doing?" Dawn asked the Unova native, the grass type slashed its glowing green tail down on the opposing pokemn knocking it out in one hit.

Hilda looked over to Dawn and bowed her head to the bluenette, "well we did have an agreement, go this Solosis is yours," Hilda told the coordinator happily.

Dawn took one of her pokeball and threw it at the injured pokemon, Dawn watched as the pokeball wobbled from side to side, after a few seconds the pokeball signified the capture much to Dawn's delight, "yes I captured a Solosis," Dawn celebrated happily while picking up her newly captured pokemon.

"So you two, what will you do?" Ash asked his new friends while Dawn walked up to Ash's side.

"Well, I was thinking about seeing if there were any new regions to visit," Hilbert replied while extending his hand out to Ash, "maybe we can start a rivalry in that new region," Hilbert declared with hope.

Ash extended his hand out to meet with Hilbert's hand, "you were the best trainer I faced so far," Ash complimented as the two trainers shook hands, "I would love to be your rival," Ash remarked happily as the two trainers nodded with confident grins, they pulled back while the two girls stood in front of one another, 'oh man they seriously need to be friends,' Ash thought while the two girls glared at each other, the crossed their arms and turned away, 'I guess that means they are rivals,' Ash wondered while spotting Dawn's broad grin.

"Make sure when we next meet that Solosis is stronger," Hilda ordered Dawn in a playful tone.

Dawn and Hilda turned around to meet each other's gaze they shook hands and walked away, "maybe I should ask you to help me out, you know to introduce contests to this region," Dawn told the brunette calmly, before taking Ash's side.

"I think I know the perfect name for this new scrapbook, Ash and Dawn the perfect couple," Hilda teased with a cheeky smile, Ash and Dawn looked away flustered at Hilda's name for the book, Hilda laughed at the two before taking Hilbert's right arm, "I will make sure to look after this new book, I want all your friends to see it on your wedding day," Hilda continued to tease the couple while Hilbert sighed in disbelief.

"We haven't thought that far yet," Ash and Dawn replied in unison while trying to hide their blushes from their new friend.

"Oh you two are so cute, too bad I will not let you get away from your biggest fan in the region," Hilda decreed before placing her hands on her hips and laughing loudly for the world to here.

"Geez, seems like our tag team has a big rival as well," Ash whispered while looking over to Hilbert who was shaking his head in shock. Ash and Dawn walked off towards the next city, Dawn took Ash's hand while Buneary clung to Pikachu who was trying to push the rabbit like pokemon away, "you know Dawn, I have been thinking a bit about it lately," Ash professed while chuckling at his girlfriend.

"About what? Our future together?" Dawn questioned the trainer peacefully as the two walked towards the bridge in front of them.

"You know Hilbert those two sort of remind me of us, a really strong bond that can never be broken," Hilda explained while grasping onto Hilbert's arm.

"Yeah, I would like to battle Ash again," Hilbert said in a different train of thought, "oh yeah our bond, too bad you seem to have a short memory about important things," Hilbert berated Hilda who scratched the back of her head, the two watched as Ash and Dawn walked towards the bridge, "maybe those two do have a bright future," Hilbert said with pride while hearing the gentle breeze cause the trees to sway and whip his girlfriend's long brown hair around.

Meanwhile on the bridge Ash and Dawn continued to walk across before looking over to the horizon, they watched as the sky started to turn a bright red as a large disc started to descend towards the line in front of them, "you know Ash, we need to travel to a new region after this, my goal for this region will take time, but I know I will succeed with you by my side," Dawn told Ash while grasping his arm, she rested her head on his shoulder, the two watched as the sun continued to set over the horizon.

"Yeah, Hilda has got me thinking about the day when we get married," Ash acknowledged with a proud smile, he looked up and watched the rest of the sun setting as the sky where the horizon was turned to a more fiery red, "there is no way I will turn my back on you Dawn, not even for another girl," Ash promised Dawn while continuing to watch the sky started to change from day to night.

"Good, I turned down so many guys, because my support for you and my loyalty to you will never waver," Dawn said before leaning in to kiss Ash on the cheek. Dawn moved back and skipped ahead of the trainer.

Ash turned around and closed his eyes for a moment, in that short moment he pictured Dawn in a wedding dress, "hmph, well at least I know she will look really cute in a wedding dress," Ash commented while his Pikachu looked at him not sure what to think about Ash's comment.

"Come on Ash, we need to get to the next city!" Dawn called over to Ash. Ash ran caught up to Dawn, this time he took her hand as the couple continued their journey onwards to their next destination.

**Again sorry this one took so long to do, hope you all enjoyed it and a nice sweet moment between Ash and Dawn at the end for the heck of it. with my laptop dying on me my schedule was thrown way off, preventing me from completing Blaze and Glory on time, but I was lucky to save Trainer and the Princess 3: battle for Unova before it died on me.**

**Next time chapter 13: Underground battle in Driftveil**


	13. The Underground battle of Driftveil

**Chapter 13: Underground battle in Driftveil.**

_Time for a bit of a catch up in the story I will try to get a couple of chapters done before next week, so here is the first one. Oh and I am going to make the last part of this chapter interesting as well, hope you all like it._

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Ash yawned after waking up from his slumber, after spending a few days at the Pokemon Center with Dawn in Driftveil City, gathering the rest of the supplies the couple needed for the rest of their journey through the Unova Region. Ash leapt out of bed to get dressed to battle the, he walked towards the window to see the dark clouds rolling in from the west, a loud rumble of thunder shook the window after a bright flash of lightning lit up the dark sky, "this is just great, a storm just what I wanted to see," Ash complained as a chill ran down his back, an uneasy feeling jolted through his body while the storm picked up in intensity. While the storm was getting worse he heard a kncking on the door which made him jump slightly, "the door is unlocked," Ash called out to the person over the storm.

The door opened with Dawn walking into the room, "seems like we are stuck here for a while," Dawn commented as the storm continued to worsen, all of a sudden a loud clap of thunder shook the room surrounding them, in that instance Dawn ran towards Ash in fear as another loud rumble rattled the area, "I hate thunder," Dawn cried out while burying her head into Ash's chest.

Ash smiled before placing his hand in Dawn's long blue hair trying to keep her from panicking even more, "never thought you were the type to get scared of lightning and thunder," Ash commented while comforting Dawn.

Ash and Dawn walked slowly towards the main foyer of the pokemon Center as it seemed like day had turned to night, Dawn had a hold on Ash's right arm, "I have been scared of thunder and lightning since I was little," Dawn replied quietly, after making it to the main foyer of the medical facility Ash made sure that they took a table far from the window, but it wasn't enough to escape the loud thunder.

Suddenly a bright light illuminated the sky outside causing the power to cut out in the Pokemon Center, Dawn leapt towards Ash, she rested her head on his shoulder still showing signs of the fear that had been with her since the storm started, "hey there is nothing to worry about since we are at the Pokemon Center," Ash promised as the lights turned on again.

A woman with pink hair wearing a nurses outfit walked to the front of the main desk, "due to the loss of the main power we are on generator power," Nurse Joy decreed while the people continued to sit and eat their meals, "no one is to go outside until the storm clears," the pokemon nurse dictated while as the rain fell heavily.

"Oh well, there isn't much that can be done," Ash said while placing his arm around Dawn, "Hey Dawn, where is Pikachu and Piplup?" Ash asked his girlfriend.

"They are still in my room, trying to keep safe from the storm," Dawn replied while remaining close to Ash.

"How ironic, Pikachu is an electric type and is hiding under a blanket," Ash complained, he stayed in the same spot knowing that Dawn wouldn't let him go until the storm was over, 'this is just great, Dawn and I are close but this is ridiculous,' Ash thought as he waited for the storm to pass, "luckily these sort of storms don't last long," Ash commented optimistically.

_(3 hours later)_

The storm had finally passed, Ash's had last feeling with his arm and Dawn had finally got up, "what was it that you said about these storms? They don't last long?" Dawn questioned while placing her hands on her hips in anger.

"Well I don't expect to get it right all the time," Ash replied with his excuse.

Meanwhile outside the Pokemon Center three men were watching Ash and Dawn argue about the storm that had recently passed, "so he is the holder of the Light Stone," one of the masked men asked with curiosity.

"It seems so, but he doesn't seem to have awakened the legendary power of Reshiram yet," the man's teammate explained while watching the bluenette turning away with her arms crossed, "it seems those two have a powerful bond, maybe we can force him to give up the Light Stone," the man pointed out with a dark look in his eyes.

"We will report to master Getsis," the third member of the trio told his teammates, the trio jumped away to make their report.

Ash and Dawn walked out of the medical facility with their respective partner pokemon, "alright time for my gym battle," Ash stated happily as the couple walked through the city in search of the gym, Ash looked around in every direction to search for the gym building, "oh man this city is stupid, how am I to find the gym?" Ash asked with frustration.

"Maybe you aren't looking in the right places," Dawn replied with a playful grin.

"I have to agree with her," decreed a familiar voice.

The duo looked back to see Hilbert and Hilda walking up to them, "trying to look for a certain gym are we?" Hilda asked the trainer while laughing at his misfortune, "luckily for you Ash, your biggest fan will help you find the gym," Hilda told the trainer. Hilda led Ash and Dawn towards a building with trees at either side of the entrance, a green roof and people walking out holding bags of food, much to Hilbert's dismay Hilda walked towards the entrance of the building, "here it is, the gym," Hilda pointed out with certainty.

Hilbert shook his head in disbelief, "Hilda, this is the markets of Driftveil City, not the gym," Hilbert declared while pointing out the masses of people leaving the building with groceries, he further pointed it out by showing the entrance to the building.

Dawn clapped her hands together, "oh yeah that's right I was buying some supplies for the rest of our journey yesterday," Dawn remarked with a bubbly smile, "I was planning on cooking Ash a special meal in a few days, because his birthday is soon," Dawn declared positively, while looking over to Ash with a wink.

"This isn't the gym? Wow, I thought it was here at least a couple of years ago," Hilda questioned while Hilbert shook his head.

The experienced trainer turned around and pointed to the hills of the City, "on that hill is the Gym you're looking for Ash," Hilbert told Ash with a smirk, "I can't believe how short your memory is Hilda, we were visiting the gym a year ago, to train your pokemon up," Hilbert told his girlfriend who was waving her hand with a carefree expression.

While Hilbert and Hilda were talking about getting lost Ash and Dawn left the two to continue their argument, "might as well leave them to it," Ash said while Dawn walked next to him as they ignored the two arguing in the background. "So Dawn, we haven't had the chance to train your pokemon up, how about in the next city I help you train up?" Ash asked the blue haired coordinator.

"Sure, I would love it," Dawn replied joyfully. The couple continued on their walk until they reached the building, "this doesn't look like much," Dawn remarked while staring at the small building, they walked into the building only to find an elevator only heading down, "okay this is a little pointless," Dawn said before walking up to the platform.

Ash followed the bluenette and pressed the button, the door opened up allowing the duo onto the platform, after getting on the elevator, as the elevator lowered Ash and Dawn started hearing the sounds of digging underground, "this is a mine," Ash remarked while the sounds got louder.

After the elevator stopped Ash and Dawn walked off the machine and looked around to see a man with a stocky build wearing a cowboy outfit, "now, we need to continue the search for minerals!" the man yelled out while turning around to see the couple approaching him, "this isn't the place for lil' kids to be," he said while turning away from them.

"Well someone by the name of Hilbert told us to come here because the gym was around here," Ash replied quietly.

The man quickly turned around to see the determined trainer, "well is that so lil' hombre, my name is Clay and I am the gym leader of this here mine," the man known as Clay introduced himself to the couple.

"My name is Ash Ketchum," the trainer replied with a confident smirk.

"And I am Dawn Berlitz," the bluenette finished the introductions joyfully.

Clay stood on the spot for a moment and let out a quick chuckle, "well if it isn't the celebrities!" Clay remarked loudly as he ran passed the duo with a cheer, "alright follow me, the battlefield isn't far from here," Clay told Ash and Dawn while cheering like an idiot.

Ash and Dawn looked at one another before following the leader, "Ash I will be there in a moment, there is something I need to do," Dawn told her boyfriend before turning around.

"What do you need to do?" Ash asked the bluenette before she pushed him towards the direction of the gym leader.

Dawn walked in the opposite direction before looking over her shoulder, "it will be a surprise," Dawn winked at her love before running off to fulfil the promise.

Ash watched the coordinator run off with a smile, "well I hope to see you there soon," Ash whispered serenely. Ash started walking towards the battlefield he slowly continued while noticing the men digging for more minerals, 'wow this place is really cool,' Ash thought with a smile, he looked around until he spotted a fossil with a feather shape, Ash knelt down to pick up the fossil, "maybe Dawn could have this, her Birthday is a few weeks after mine," Ash commented while picking up the rock. Ash looked at the fossil and smiled proudly at the gift idea for Dawn, he placed the item in his bag before walking off towards the gym battle, with the sounds of the men working around him.

After ten minutes of walking the black haired teen finally made it to the battlefield, he put his hand on the door and pushed it open to see the battlefield in front of him, "you sure took your sweet time," Clay remarked with a smirk, the gym leader stood at his end of the battlefield while crossing his arms, he watched the trainer walking to the other end of the battlefield with the young man looking towards the stands to see if Dawn had returned with her surprise, "well what are we waiting for?" Clay asked while holding out his pokeball ready to face the powerful trainer in battle.

"Wait, Dawn hasn't returned yet, I don't usually battle without her supporting me," Ash replied while holding out his left hand to wait for the coordinators return. The two opposing trainers waited until the doors opened again this time with Dawn entering into the arena with a cheerleader's outfit on, "you took so long," Ash told the bluenette.

Dawn walked towards the side of the battlefield ready to cheer Ash on in the upcoming battle, "alright you can start the battle," Dawn chimed with great excitement.

"So are we ready to go? Good, Palpitoad it's time to battle," Clay called out an armless blue pokemon with warts on the top of its head.

"Zorua, I choose you," Ash called out his first pokemon to battle Gym Leader. The two pokemon glared at one another getting ready to receive their first command.

Clay didn't waste much more time he smirked at the trainer and grabbed a pick axe before hitting the ground with it, "Mud Shot to start off things off," Clay instructed his pokemon with great confidence.

"Alright dodge the attack, then use Dark Pulse," Ash called for the counter attack, the dark type pokemon dodged the incoming balls of mud that came from the water type's mouth, a ball of mud hit the tricky fox pokemon after dodging the first two shots, it got back to its feet and unleashed a powerful blast of dark energy at the ground type pokemon.

Clay watched in amazement as the attack landed after being fired just seconds earlier, 'amazing, I thought this one wouldn't be as strong,' Clay wonder while his pokemon fell back from the power of the attack, "Palpitoad attack with Hydro Pump," Clay called out for the counter attack, a powerful torrent of water emanated from the vibration pokemon.

"Dodge it hurry," Ash instructed his pokemon in a panic. The dark type barely missed the attack but was soon hit by another Mud Shot, Ash couldn't believe what was going on, seeing his dark type getting dominated by the water pokemon, "Zorua are you alright?" Ash asked his pokemon in concern, the pokemon slowly got back to its feet before it started to glow a pure white, the pokemon grew taller and started to stand on its own two feet, the fur on the new pokemon's back started to lengthen, "Zorua is evolving," Ash commented with joy, in a sudden roar the glowing stopped and a new pokemon was standing in front of him. Ash pulled out his pokedex to gather information on his new pokemon, "Zoroark, the Illusion pokemon, well this will be interesting," Ash remarked while looking over to his new pokemon.

"Well this battle has gotten farm more interesting, Palpitoad, attack with Hyper Voice," Clay instructed his water type pokemon with supreme confidence, a powerful echo emanated from the water type pokemon causing the dark type to fall back.

"Zoroark attack with Shadow Ball!" Ash yelled out to his newly evolved pokemon. The illusion pokemon formed a powerful sphere between its two paws before unleashing it at the water type pokemon.

"Use Mud Shot," Clay instructed his pokemon quickly, balls of mud came from the ground type's mouth and clashed with the purple ball of energy causing a powerful explosion.

Dawn covered her eyes with her right arm as the dust covered the battlefield, Dawn quickly refocused on the intense battle between Ash and Clay, 'amazing this leader is better than the other four he has faced,' Dawn thought to herself before looking over to the grinning raven haired trainer, "come on Ash, show him what you are made of!" Dawn cheered loudly with all her might.

Ash and clay watched as the dust settled, eventually it was revealed that both pokemon had been knocked out of the battle, "not bad young man," Clay complimented Ash, he recalled his fallen pokemon from the battle while Ash followed the gym leader. "Time for round two of this rumble, Krokorok, it's time to battle," Clay called out a mostly brown colored pokemon with a pink underbelly and black eyes.

"Another ground type, let's see how you handle this one, Garchomp, I choose you," Ash replied with his own ground type pokemon, the two pokemon glared at one another prepared to face one another in the next round of the battle.

"This one is different, like Zoroark was only getting a training battle, his Garchomp looks much stronger," Clay told himself while the powerful dragon roared at the desert croc pokemon, "alright Krokorok start things off with Crunch," Clay instructed his pokemon, the dround type pokemon charged towards the trainers dragon type.

Ash stood on the spot quietly and starting to feel a little bored now, "Dragon Claw," Ash issued his command, the dragon type charged towards the opposing pokemon with his claw glowing white, the two attacks collided but the ground type was pushed back with ease much to the shock of the gym leader.

Clay looked back to see his ground type getting up slowly after the powerful hit, "wow this guy has trained his pokemon very well," Clay reminded himself while his pokemon got back to the battle, "counter with Stone Edge," Clay barked out his next command. The dark type became surrounded with small stones before unleashing it at the dragon type pokemon.

Ash stood there and allowed his pokemon to take the hit, the dragon stood on the spot as if nothing had happened, he scratched the area where the attack landed and smirked at the opponent, "alright time to show them real power, Garchomp end this now with Earthquake," Ash issued his next command with great confidence.

The dragon begun to glow and the ground shaking around him, Clay watched as the display off power from the dragon type pokemon started to overwhelm his pokemon, a powerful shockwave slammed into the desert croc pokemon knocking it out of the battle, "amazing, his moves are very well thought out, his pokemon are extremely powerful," Clay reminded himself as he recalled his knocked out pokemon, he pulled out another of his pokeballs and closed his eyes for a moment, 'I was getting beaten badly when I faced a man by the name of Tobias at least a week ago,' Clay thought as memories of the powerful dark pokemon he faced with his entire team. "Excadril, it's time to battle," Clay called for his final pokemon to battle the dragon.

Ash recalled his pokemon and got ready to call for another pokemon, "Lucario, I choose you," Ash called for his next pokemon in the battle.

"Another of his powerful pokemon," Clay hissed as his pokemon roared out ready to face the aura pokemon.

Dawn watched from the sidelines still cheering with all her might, "come on Ash, win this battle in one move," Dawn cheered for the trainer while dancing around in her cheerleaders suit.

"Use Horn Drill," Clay called for the first attack of the round.

"Won't work," Ash commented as he let his pokemon stay on the spot, "that move on works on pokemon equal to or higher than the level of the pokemon you are facing," Ash remarked while he watched the leaders pokemon charge towards the steel type pokemon with its hood spinning around, Ash watched as his pokemon easily dodged the attack, "attack with Aura Sphere," Ash instructed the pokemon with confidence. The aura pokemon quickly formed a powerful blue sphere in the palm of its hands and pushed it into the ground type pokemon.

Clay watched in horror while a blinding blue light enveloped his last pokemon, his pokemn flew out of the attack and crashed onto the ground knocked out of the battle, "no way, he is stronger than I thought," Clay stated while recalling his pokemon, after recalling his knocked out pokemon he walked over to the victorious trainer with a badge in hand, "I am impressed with your skill young man," Clay complimented with a smirk, he gave the badge to the trainer before his left arm was taken by the bluenette.

Dawn watched as the pin dug into his hand hurting the trainer a little, "opps sorry about that Ash," Dawn said with slight embarrassment, Ash yelled out in pain before Dawn let go of his arm so he could pull the Quake Badge out of his right hand, "here let me help you," Dawn said sweetly, she pulled the badge from his hand and placed it gently in his left hand, "hold on a moment Ash, I will bandage it up for you," Dawn said while Clay was watching on smiling from ear to ear, he watched as Dawn wrapped the trainers hand in a white cloth.

Ash looked at the bandage and smiled, "when did you learn how to do that?" Ash asked the bluenette proudly.

Dawn looked away blushing from the question, "I learnt First Aid from Brock while you were gone for two years," Dawn replied with a warm smile.

"Ash, I will make sure the final two gyms know about yours and Tobias' arrival, the sixth will not have enough time to prepare for a battle against either of you, but the seventh and the eight should be able to challenge you," Clay told Ash with a smile before heading back into the mines.

Ash walked out with Dawn wanting to give his pokemon a check-up after the battle against Clay, after walking out of the gym they were greeted by Hilda and Hikbert, "you could have waited, I really wanted to see my idol battle today," Hilda complained while glaring over to her boyfriend, "it was your fault, if you weren't talking to old Team Plasma about Ghetsis and his plan, we would have been able to watch Ash battle," Hilda blamed the trainer with her fists clenched in anger.

"Hilda, I needed to talk to them, they are just as concerned about their former comrades actions as I am," Hilbert replied with his arms crossed he started to think about what the sage had said and looked away, "Ash, go and get your pokemon healed up, I will find out more about Team Plasma, and Hilda I promise we will watch Ash battle," Hilbert remarked while looking over to the brunette with a calm smile.

Ash and Dawn ran over to the medical facility to get Ash's pokemon healed up, "Ash I am going to get changed," Dawn told Ash while he waited for his pokemon to get healed up.

After a few hours of waiting for Dawn to emerge from the hallway, he looked over to Pikachu and Piplup, "Dawn never takes this long," Ash complained as he stood up and walked towards the hallway followed by the electric mouse and the small penguin like pokemon. Ash walked up to Dawn's room and knocked on the door, "Dawn, we don't have all day," Ash said as he knocked on the door again, still with no response Ash started to get a little frustrated, "Dawn, can you hear me?" Ash requested but still no reply.

Ash pushed open the door, to find the curtains flapping around and Dawn nowhere in sight, her pokeballs on the bed and her cheerleader outfit on the bed, "she must have finished getting changed," Ash commented while running towards the window, he looked around to see if he could find Dawn, "Dawn!" Ash yelled out repeatedly before looking towards the ground to find foot marks near the window.

Ash looked over to the pokemon who were in tears, "no Dawn has been captured," Ash said in shock as he collapsed to the ground, he looked around to see if he could find any more clues.

"Ash, we have a problem," Hilda called over to Ash who was still on the floor, "you need to come to old Team Plasma's house now," Hilda instructed Ash who was hitting the ground angered by the kidnapping of Dawn. "Ash, it has something to do with Dawn," Hilda said with concern, Ash quickly got back to his feet and grabbed the rest of Dawn's gear, he ran passed Hilda pushing her aside and into the main foyer, he made it to the front counter to get his pokemon, "Ash you need to calm down, we will help you get Dawn back," Hilda assured Ash with a smile.

"I will have Dawn back," Ash decreed seething with anger, he rushed out of the pokemon center holding Dawn's bag, but was stopped by a vine whip, Ash looked back to see Hilda next to her grass type pokemon, "why Hilda, why did you stop me?!" Ash asked the brunette in anger.

"Because, if you want to save Dawn, then you need to know more about the situation, at the moment you know only Dawn was captured that is all," Hilda replied to the trainer while walking up to him, "come on Ash, Hilbert is waiting for you and so is N's sisters," Hilda remarked as she extended her hand out to help Ash up.

"I will help myself up," Ash replied coldly while getting up slowly from the grass type move.

"Follow me to the house," Hilda instructed Ash.

Ash followed the brunette quietly thinking about Dawn and why he didn't know anything about it, 'great I get stronger because I wanted my rematch, and yet when Dawn needs me the most, I was unable to be there for her,' Ash thought with a frown while tears started to well up.

"You have to worry about Ash, Hilbert and I will help you get Dawn back, plus I want more pictures of the two of you together," Hilda reassured Ash with a friendly smile.

* * *

**Hope you all like this chapter, I will be having Hilda and Hilbert being recurring characters, not main. Please make a comment on what you thought of the ending, I think this story needed something more, so I will be adding it to the story.**

**Will Ash find Dawn? And what is the reasoning behind it? What will he find out from Old Team Plasma?**

**Next time Chapter 14: World Tournament troubles.**


	14. Trouble at the Pokemon World Tournament

**Chapter 14: World Tournament Troubles**

_Sorry this one took so long I have been thinking of how to execute this chapter and now I have finally found a way to do it, I hope you enjoy this two part saga_

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Ash remained in the city where he won his last badge thinking about his plan to save Dawn, he knew that if he did anything reckless it would put his girlfriend's life in jeopardy, his partner pokemon and Dawn's Piplup shared the same concerns especially since Dawn had no way of defending herself from Team Plasma. Ash looked around the Pokemon Center to see a couple walking in, starting to become an unbearable sight even for Ash, who enjoyed the company of Dawn, the trainer stood up and walked towards the exit with the two pokemon and Dawn's pokeball's in his possession. "Come on, I am certain Hilda and Hilbert have found a way to help rescue Dawn," Ash stated silently.

The trainer walked out of the medical facility after two days of lamenting on what he could have done to protect her, "a fine boyfriend I turn out to be," Ash angrily berated himself, while his thoughts trailed off to Dawn, Ash opened his bag and stared in awe at the large white stone sitting comfortably inside, 'I know that they are after this,' Ash thought with a heavy drawn out sigh.

While Ash walked through the bustling city he spotted Hilda and Hilbert approaching him, "Ash, we have finally figured out where Dawn is," Hilbert declared with joy.

"She is in a ship not too far from the Pokemon World Tournament," Hilda explained in an assured tone, after hearing the news Ash turned around and rushed to the location of the Pokemon World Tournament, " Ash wait up, this could easily be a trap, we only got the information from someone spying on Team Plasma for us!" Hilda yelled over to Ash before grabbing his arm, "we can't rush in, we need to think of a way to do this without endangering Dawn," Hilda instructed Ash with a more serious expression.

"Hilda is right Ash, if we rush in then we might not get another chance to rescue her," Hilbert reaffirmed his girlfriend's concerns. Hilda removed her hand to a now calmer Ash, "like we said you had nothing to worry about, we will help you any way we can," Hilbert assured the trainer with a smile, he nodded at the trainer who was still feeling down about the whole situation, "don't worry I was in this position before when I had to rescue Hilda," Hilbert remarked before looking over this the brunette.

"What do you mean you were in this situation before Hilbert?" Ash asked his friend in a calmer tone.

Hilbert sighed for a moment and then turned his attention to Hilda, "it was two years ago Ash, when Hilda was taken away by Team Plasma, they wanted what you have in your bag," Hilbert retorted with a frown, Ash pulled out the item and thought about the danger the light stone had placed Dawn in, "I was about to compete against the final gym leader of this region, but was side tracked when I discovered the Hilda had been captured."

"What happened?" Ash questioned quietly.

"I was forced to put my challenge on hold, I was like you, not sure of what to do next , so I went and did the reckless thing putting not only my life but Hilda's life in danger," Hilbert described with guilt.

_(Flashback)_

Hilbert glanced over to Alder grabbing his collar in a furious manner, "what, Hilda has been captured?" Hilbert questioned the man while shaking back and forth, "by who? And where is she?!" Hilbert continued to ask the champion of the time, the trainer let go of the champion's collar and ran towards the exit of the medical facility while being warned by Alder not to do anything reckless but Hilbert was too interested in saving Hilda.

Hilbert ran through the town to search for Hilda, looking in every town block and alleyway to search for her, he began to get frustrated in his search until he spotted a group of men wearing a knight's outfit, he followed them quietly as the sun began to set, "we better get the next orders from Ghetsis, his revenge against that filthy trainer for taking the Light Stone from us," the plasma grunt on the left told his comrade.

The Plasma grunt on the right had an expression of guilt plastered over his face, knowing that Team Plasma wasn't the same since it had already been defeated by that same trainer, "yeah but why capture the girl?" the second plasma grunt asked his ally before stopping on the spot.

"So we can lure Hilbert into a trap," the other one retorted with a dark grin.

The second Plasma grunt looked away guiltily again thinking about what he was doing, he felt that it was wrong and stayed behind, "I am sorry, but I cannot continue my service to Ghetsis, this is wrong," he pointed out before turning away from his comrade before running passed the trainer trailing them.

Hilbert watched wrathfully as the former plasma grunt walked passed him, ignoring the trainer, "they captured Hilda?" Hilbert asked in anger as he continued to follow the other Plasma member. Hilbert silently followed the plasma grunt to a truck where he climbed on to continue his search for the brunette, 'where is she?' Hilbert asked himself in frustration not noticing the trucked getting ready to start, the doors behind him shut while he continued his search for the young girl, "damn, this is terrible," Hilbert hissed in frustration the truck started to speed off to another location with Hilbert inside the dark container.

Hilbert heard a muffled screamed before being thrown off balance from the sudden cornering of the truck, he crashed into the right side of the container injuring himself, "damn that hurt," Hilbert complained, he opened his bag and searched around for a torch, after finding the item he needed he immediately turned the torch on. Hilbert shone the light to the back of the truck's container before hearing the muffled screaming from behind him, Hilbert quickly turned the light towards front of the container to find Hilda bound by ropes, "Hilda, just wait a moment," Hilbert instructed the brunette, he slowly moved towards the front of the container, careful not to lose balance along the way, after a few minutes of approaching Hilda, he quickly removed the gag.

Hilda took a deep breath and glared at Hilbert in anger, "you idiot, why did you do something so reckless?" Hilda asked the trainer in anger.

"Because I love you Hilda," Hilbert replied with a fond smile.

Hilda sat on the spot in silence and in shocked to hear Hilbert confess his love to her, she gulped before a smile graced her lips, "you're so reckless Hilbert," Hilda replied joyfully, her face started to turn red before looking away from the boy that confessed his love to her, "well Hilbert are you going to rescue your girlfriend? Or are we going to let them take us away?" Hilda questioned the young man with a cheeky smile.

Hilbert got behind Hilda and undid the ropes that bound her hands and feet together, "well let's get a move on," Hilbert told the brunette. Hilbert helped Hilda move to the back of the truck's trailer and tried to force open the door. After a few minute Hilbert was successful but noticed that the truck was moving at great speeds, too great for them to jump from without suffering major injuries, "Brav can help us out," Hilbert decreed while with a sense of urgency.

A large flying type pokemon appeared in front of Hilda and Hilbert, "um you do know that I am afraid of heights?" Hilda professed to Hilbert with a frown.

"Well it's either you fly out with me or you stay in the truck," Hilbert replied with a frown.

After a few moments of silence the two climbed onto the large flying type pokemon, "alright Brav time to take off," Hilbert ordered his pokemon with great confidence, the pokemon leapt out from the back of the truck before stretching his wings out to start gliding, he then started to flap his wings to start flying away from the truck, Hilda held tightly onto Hilbert fearing that she would fall off the pokemon.

"Hilbert if I fall off this pokemon it will be your fault," Hilda told the trainer while resting her head on his back.

_(Return from the flashback)_

"After that incident we decided to hide the Light Stone in Castelia City, we knew it wasn't safe with me," Hilbert explained while looking over to the item that Ash was holding, Hilbert walked ahead with Hilda while the trainer placed the Light Stone back in his bag, "come on Ash, we need to rescue your girlfriend, but you need to comepete in the World Tournament," Hilbert told the trainer.

Ash caught up with his new friends and followed them to the location of the Pokemon World Tournament, 'soon Dawn, I will have you back,' Ash reminded himself of his resolve.

Hilda looked back at a depressed Ash and smiled, "don't worry Ash, I am sure we will be able to help you, plus your love for Dawn isn't the thing that's going to hold you back, nothing holds my idol back," Hilda reassured the trainer with a bright smile.

Ash nodded with a chuckle, he sighed for a moment, "thanks for that Hilda," Ash replied with a smile after receiving the encouragement from the brunette, the trio walked with the pokemon leading the way, eventually the group had reached the tournament grounds, the stalls that lined the streets and the dock behind the stalls, one containing a large ship with massive white sails, the people walking around with their families and loved ones as well, eating food and playing games before getting ready to watch the tournament, "so many people," Ash said with awe before his attention turned to the ship in the background.

"Yes Ash that is the Team Plasma ship, it is very likely that Dawn is being held captive in that same ship, but we can't do anything while there are so many people," Hilbert instructed Ash calmly, "all three of us need to sign up for the tournament, we can end this quickly because we are all very strong trainers," Hilbert suggested with a proud smile.

Ash looked over his shoulder to see that the ship was still there not ready to move at any time, leaving the trainer to think about what to do next, "fine I will sign up as well," Ash complained while turning his attention to the front counter of the Tournament gates.

Hilda was the first to sign up along with Hilbert following soon after, "come on Ash, we don't have much time," Hilbert called over to Ash.

"Fine," Ash replied with irritation, he place pen to paper and chose three of his pokemon to battle with, 'I better choose my best three,' Ash thought with a serious expression. He looked over to his partner pokemon and shook his head, "Charizard, Lucario and Garchomp," Ash chose his three combatants.

Pikachu knew that Ash was serious about winning in this tournament after his friend chose three other pokemon and not him, he still felt a little upset but knew that Ash wasn't going to hold any punches back in his attempt to rescue Dawn, "good, now that we are signed up, we better head to the competitors lounge to talk about our plan," Hilda reminded Hilbert and Ash silently.

The trio walked into the main arena and into the hallway, "alright our goal is to make sure that they don't get the Light Stone, while we find out where Dawn is," Hilbert explained calmly while the trio walked through the halls of the tournament grounds.

Meanwhile on the ship Dawn was in a prison cell on board, she knew that there was little chance of escaping, but still hoped that Ash would show up and rescue her, "Ash, where are you?" Dawn whispered to herself fervently.

While Dawn was waiting a man wearing a lab coat with blonde hair with a blue streak orbiting his head walked into the room, "ah so we meet again," Colress said with a smile, he gazed into the determined eyes of the young woman and chuckled slightly, "such a beautiful creature you are, no wonder why that trainer wants to protect you so much, too bad this whole tournament is a trap, for him and the people," Colress explained to the bluenette.

"You coward, leave the people out of this!" Dawn yelled at the Plasma scientist, "Ash would never do something so reckless, he would never show up and fall for your trap," Dawn commented with her fists clenched.

Colress walked to the exit and looked over his shoulder, "we shall see how far he is willing to go for you," Colress smirked at the bluenette.

"You monster," Dawn called the plasma scientist in anger.

After walking out of the holding cells he looked over to the guards and nodded, "give her a TV, I want her to watch her precious love fall in this tournament, to the point that he does give us the Light Stone." Colress instructed the guard before leaving the area to complete the next stage of his plans.

Dawn sat on the ground with tears in her eyes, "if only I didn't take too long," Dawn told herself before another person walked in with a television set in his grasp, "what's this?" Dawn asked the man dressed in black.

The plasma grunt looked back with piercing green eyes and smirked at the young coordinator, "it's so you can watch you precious love get beaten in this tournament," he replied with a dark grin.

Dawn gasped at the declaration covering her mouth in shock to find that after the TV was turned on, she found Ash front and centre with Hilbert and Hilda along with a group of Plasma grunts and elites in the mix, "no Ash," Dawn cried after seeing Ash looking around to see his foes.

"Here we are ladies and gents, the first annual Pokemon World Tournament, a place where the best trainers in the world come to gather to see who the best of the best really is," a commentator announced on the TV, after the announcement the crowd started to roar in anticipation of the upcoming battle tournament, "alright time to watch the first round of battles, the first round of battles are Ash and Blake," the announcer declared.

Dawn watched Ash step forward concerned while his mysterious foe also stepped forward, he had a black mask covering his mouth, long red hair, wearing a black jacket over a white shirt and blue jeans, Dawn clasped her hands together hoping that Ash would win the battle, "alright Charizard I choose you," Ash called out a large orange pokemon with powerful wings and a flaming tail. Back at the arena Ash watched his opponent called out a powerful steel type pokemon, "Steelix, but it has the type disadvantage," Ash wondered while staring at the iron snake pokemon with concern.

"This battle will be one on one," the referee announced while raising the red and green flags.

Hilda and Hilbert watched the battle starting to unfold, "why would this mysterious trainer choose a steel type against a powerful fire type?" Hilda asked quietly, unsure of what was really going on.

Hilbert stared at the expression of the trainer and gained an angered expression, "he is here to throw the battle," Hilbert answered furiously, he looked around to see more people entering the room, "Hilda, we need to head to the battlefield, I have a bad feeling about this tournament," Hilbert knowingly told his girlfriend before running to the door, he opened the door to see members of Team Plasma standing in his way.

Hilbert tackled the two members to the ground before getting back to his feet to run towards the main arena, Hilda soon followed Hilbert, the plasma grunts watched the duo head to the battlefield but were stopped by another two members of Team Plasma, "we knew you three would come to that's girls rescue, Go Bisharp," the plasma grunt called out a black and red pokemon with an axe on top of its head.

"Go Leipard," the other plasma grunt called out a slender purple and yellow cat like pokemon. "You will not interfere in our plans to take the Light Stone this time," she decreed with a smirk.

"So you remember me, well maybe you should know that after the last few years I have gotten a whole hell of a lot stronger, right Hilda?" Hilbert queried the brunette knowingly, "you will not stop us from rescuing our friend, and you most certainly will not stop Ash Ketchum from rescuing his future wife," Hilbert declared with a cheeky grin before calling out his mega fire pig pokemon.

"Right Hilbert, time to show them what our team is really like, Go Mandibuzz," Hilda called out her bone vulture pokemon in order to face the opposing pokemon.

While the battle was getting started Ash's Charizard unleashed a powerful burst of flames towards the iron snake pokemon, the powerful attack slammed into the steel type knocking it out in one hit, it was then that Ash noticed that the battle was nothing but to lure him out into the open, the trainer looked around to discover two members of Team Plasma approaching him, the sounds of people screaming to reveal that Team Plasma had taken over the arena, "what, they were planning on bringing me out into the open like this?" Ash wondered while the two enemies pulled out their pokemon.

In that moment Colress walked from the end of the Blake's side of the arena, "so how do you like it? This trap we set for you, we knew you would show up to rescue your precious love," Colress tormented the trainer with a dark grin.

"Where is Dawn? Tell me right now," Ash demanded while swinging out his left hand in anger and his right hand clenched into a tight fist.

Colress walked to the battlefield with a pokeball in hand, "you see young man, we only want one thing, it just so happens to be in your backpack," Colress pointed over to the bag next to Ash, Pikachu and Piplup stood in front of the bag not wanting the enemy to.

"Tell me where is Dawn?!" Ash demanded again with a more furious tone, "if you even lay a finger on her, you will not see what happens beyond this month," Ash threatened the scientist while gritting his teeth.

Colress shrugged his shoulder with a wry smile, "you have nothing to worry about, she is well fed, and she is watching you now, from the ship you saw on the way here," Colress replied to Ash with certainty, "but that will all change depending on what you do here and now, here is the thing Ash, you can stay here and defend the people, never to see Dawn again, or you can save your precious Dawn but the people here, well you don't want to know what Ghetsis has in store for them," Colress explained the predicament to Ash before hearing the explosions of a battle behind him.

Ash looked back to see Hilda and Hilbert fighting off the Plasma grunts, "Ash, go rescue Dawn, we will deal with the rescue here!" Hilbert ordered Ash with a thumb up.

Ash stood there unsure of what to do, "what the hell are you waiting for? We will be just fine!" Hilda told Ash with a confident grin

Ash nodded and grabbed his backpack, he ran up to his fire type pokemon with Pikachu jumping onto his shoulder, "come on let's get out of here," Ash commanded his powerful pokemon, "Pikachu give Team Plasma a parting gift for me," Ash told his starter pokemon while the small penguin pokemon held on to the fire type pokemon for dear life.

The small electric mouse charged up an electric attack before giving some of Team Plasma's pokemon a shocking exit, Colress smirked before walking away from the tournament grounds, "didn't expect him not to come alone, but it matters not," Colress whispered to himself while being followed by Blake. The scientist looked back to see the battle continue without stopping for a moment.

Ash scanned the area to find that the ship was no longer in port, he spotted the ship moving away from the port, "no, I will not give up, not on Dawn," Ash assured himself while his pokemon continued to fly, "towards that ship Charizard, and fly faster," Ash instructed his pokemon with confidence.

The large orange pokemon picked up his speed and headed towards the ship, Ash barely managed to hold on, but it didn't deter him for rescuing Dawn, the fire type did everything to catch up to the ship and eventually Charizard was close enough, Ash got up and jumped off his pokemon and to the edge of the ship.

Ash held onto the ship and tried to pull himself up while his pokemon struggled to keep up with the ship, "I will not give up on Dawn!" Ash yelled while using all his strength to pull himself aboard the ship, after slowly getting up he looked around to see his Charizard losing altitude from exhaustion, "Charizard return," Ash recalled his pokemon quickly, the red beam from his pokeball hit the fire type pokemon, after recalling his pokemon Ash looked around to see where he was, he thought about his next plan. "Alright, I am on my own, but I will do whatever it takes to find Dawn," Ash promised himself, he walked on the ship's deck to start his search.

After making it halfway and towards the main mast of the ship he was confronted by Plasma grunts, "take a look around you, we out number you greatly," a female member of plasma dressed in black told Ash with great confidence before two more members one with a Metagross and the other with a gear like pokemon both moving next to a Seviper, "but if you insist in wanting to fight us, then we will oblige in your reckless attitude," the woman said with a confident tone.

"Hmph, don't underestimate me, I can take you all on," Ash confidently and openly declared much to the chagrin of the female Plasma member, "I will not let anyone get in my way of saving Dawn," Ash promised before pulling out his pokeball from his belt.

"Oh well, to each their own, but we warn you we are stronger than those weaklings you faced in Castelia City," the woman said calmly, "Seviper use Bite," she instructed her pokemon.

"Lucario counter with Bone Rush," Ash called out his aura pokemon, immediately the aura pokemon formed a bone staff in its hands and slammed it into a fang snake pokemon, the fighting type pokemon landed next to Ash with the poison type falling to the ground, "who's next?!" Ash challenged the vastly superior numbers of Plasma grunts.

"Metagross attack with Zen Headbutt," the male plasma grunt instructed his pokemon.

"Klinklang, attack with Grind Gear," the other Plasma ordered his pokemon.

Ash smirked at the new challenge, 'finally something to fight against,' Ash thought before getting ready to instruct his pokemon to counter attack, "dodge Metagross' attack then use Aura Sphere," the trainer instructed his pokemon to counter attack, the steel type pokemon easily dodged the iron leg pokemon's attack and formed a blue sphere before unleashing it at the gear pokemon dealing immense damage to the steel type pokemon.

Meanwhile in the holding cell the TV was showing static as the cell started to violently shake after a vicious attack came from above, she heard a loud explosion rattle the prison cell which concerned her the most, "what's going on out there?" Dawn asked herself with concern while parts of the ceiling began to crumble from above.

"Hurry someone is fighting our elites on his own!" one of the guards, "he is fighting them off with just his Lucario," the plasma guard stated while Dawn listened with shock finding out that the battle involved a Lucario.

Dawn ran over to the prison door and watched as the guards ran towards the battle, "Ash, you reckless fool, all this for me," Dawn fondly smiled while sitting down, she placed her arms around her bent knees and thought about what to do next, "all this for me, I guess people do reckless things for the one they love," Dawn reminded herself with a warm smile, "what are you thinking Ash?" Dawn asked out loud while the explosions of the battle outside continued to shake the ship violently from the raging battle. Dawn looked out the small window to see a bright light beaming in from the sun, she thought about her journey so far, "this much for me and this is the man I will marry someday," Dawn joked to herself but still felt that everything had a reason to happen, she smiled at herself and thought about Ash, "reckless as always, but then again I love you reguardless," Dawn fondly told herself, resting her back on the bars thinking to herself even more. Dawn looked to the corner of her cell seeing water starting to trickle in much to her horror, 'Ash, please hurry,' Dawn hoped while the water slowly built up.

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_I hope you all enjoyed the chapter with the battle on the heating up and the interruption of the Pokemon World Tournament by Team Plasma. Oh and don't worry I will complete the Pokémon World tournament, I just want to have a race against time chapter._

_Will Ash save Dawn in time? Or will they both go down with the ship?_

_Next time chapter 15: Battle on a Sinking Ship_


	15. Battle on the Sinking Ship

**Chapter 15: Battle on the Sinking Ship.**

_So are you ready for a race against time chapter? Time for me to unleash hell. Yes 100 reviews thanks for all the support for this story folks, makes me so pumped that I have that from my readers._

_**Disclaimer: **__you know just to make sure pokemon doesn't belong to me._

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Three pokemon collapsed to the ground after taking a powerful hit by a large dark blue pokemon with a fin from its back, the members of Team Plasma looked in shock as the large pokemon glared at the enemies as well as their pokemon. "Amazing this trainer has beaten almost everyone without breaking a sweat," one of the plasma grunts said in panic while Ash looked around to see the plasma elites tending to their pokemon after battling Ash, "an only with two pokemon, what is this guy?" the plasma grunt asked with fear etched on his face. Ash started walking towards the scared plasma force with his Pikachu, "stay away from us!" they demanded in fear.

Ash grabbed one of them by the collar and glared into his eyes, "tell me where is Dawn, I will not hurt you but I might change my mind if you don't tell me where she is," Ash threatened the plasma grunt.

The plasma grunt started laughing at the trainer, "yeah right, and do you know what Master Ghetsis would do to me? If he found out I told you where the prisoner is," the plasma grunt replied.

Ash smirked for a moment before lifting the plasma grunt off the deck and walked him over to the edge of the ship "well, let's see if you can swim," Ash challenged the plasma grunt, "now tell me, where is Dawn?" Ash interrogated the member with a smirk, "there are plenty of others here, and I am sure the law doesn't care about you lot either, so you have nothing to gain but to live," Ash explained the situation to the plasma grunt with a chuckle, "I would hurry if I were you, I am starting to lose my grip and I don't think those waters are all that warm either," Ash explained further.

The plasma grunt looked into the trainer's auburn eyes fearing for his life; he turned pale before noticing how serious he was about, "alright I will tell you, she is three levels below deck, in a room at the end of the hall," the plasma elite submitted, he was pulled back onto the deck of the ship shaking at the near death experience he had.

Ash smiled at the man before turning around, "if Dawn is hurt in anyway, I will make Team Plasma and your leader regret it," the trainer promised the plasma grunt before entering the ships. Ash looked over to his partner pokemon and Piplup, "come on let's find Dawn," Ash called over to the two pokemon.

After entering the room the ship tipped to its side slightly causing Ash to lose balance as the ship started to tilt on one side forcing Ash to stand by the wall, before the ship regained its steady, before Ash could move towards the next hallway to make it to the stairs, but before he could reach the end of the hallway a pokemon tackled him into a room preventing him from moving to the flight of stairs that were so close, Ash looked up to see a medium sized brown pokemon with a yellow outline looking like a vest and a long tail with a bushy white tip at the end and red eyes with yellow rings, "don't think you will get too far in this ship, Watchog, attack with Low Kick," the plasma grunt issued his command.

"Pikachu attack with Iron Tail," Ash followed up with his command.

The two pokemon charged at one another, Pikachu with a stiffened tail which gained a metallic look and Watchog swinging its tail around to attack the electric mouse, the two attacks collided but Watchog was quickly overpowered by the electric type who leapt back towards the trainer ready to attack again.

The normal type got back up after the powerful attack, "alright, attack with Thunderbolt," the plasma member told his pokemon with a smirk.

Ash looked on in shock knowing that an attack in such a small space was a bad idea, "you fool, are you intending to kill us both?" Ash asked the plasma grunt with his fists clenched.

"Anything for Team Plasma," he retorted with a sinister laugh.

As the attack formed around the normal type pokemon Ash closed his eyes and pictured Dawn, her smile lit up the area and her confidence radiated for him, he kept his fists clenched ad opened his eyes, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt," Ash instructed his pokemon with confidence, this was now or never for Ash he had no choice but to counter with his own electric attack.

The two explosive attacks crashed into one another sending the two trainers flying to the ends of the room and bolts of lightning out the window, the two trainers got up slowly, Ash looked over his shoulder to see water starting to seep in slowly, "ah the ship is sinking, doesn't matter, this ship is disposable anyway, we have five more just like this one," the plasma grunt told the trainer smirking at him while his pokemon got to its feet panting from the battle, "that's right, this ship isn't going to last much longer," the plasma grunt explained much to trainer's displeasure.

Ash groaned after discovering that the ship was disposable, His Pikachu sparking from the ceeks ready to battle while Piplup started to show signs of frustration, "I don't time to deal with you," Ash decreed before tackling the opponent to the ground, he got to his feet quickly and rushed to the stairway, "good it seems like we are making some progress," Ash commented before a blast of electricity flew passed him, he turned around to see Watchog and the plasma grunt walking down the steps, Ash looked ahead to find two more Plasma elites approaching him, "persistent," Ash hissed while the two pokemon next to him got ready to battle the three enemies.

"Don't think we will let you go beyond this point," the female elite laughed at the trainer.

Ash gazed over his shoulder to see two dark type pokemon standing next to them, "don't get in my way!" Ash yelled out before Pikachu unleashed an explosive Volt Tackle pushing the two pokemon back while Piplup fired a torrent of water at the normal type behind Ash, "nicely done, now Pikachu, attack with Iron Tail and Piplup attack with Ice Beam," Ash instructed the two small pokemon.

"Fool, Bisharp attack with Iron Head," the woman foe ordered calmly.

"Watchog attack with Low Kick," the plasma behind Ash called for the next attack.

"Scrafty, Use High Jump Kick," the third plasma member instructed his pokemon.

Ash watched as the two pokemon held off the attacks from both directions, "out of my way, I have someone important to me on this damn ship!" Ash demanded but the plasma trio didn't listen, they continued to keep Ash at bay, Ash viewed the area to try and find a way to escape the Team Plasma trio.

Meanwhile in the prison cell Dawn quickly moved to the bed area as the waters in the area started to rise in level, "come on Ash please hurry," Dawn pleaded while hearing the explosive battle from the upper levels of the ship.

Dawn heard yelling out the cells while watching the water rising, she knew that there wasn't a lot of time before the water reached the level of the bed she was sitting on, the power of the battles on the upper floors of the ship, "come on everyone there is a trainer battling our elites with a small yellow pokemon, he is pushing them back," the guards yelled out much to Dawn's surprise.

Dawn continued to listen to the panicking of the plasma guards, while the powerful battle started to create a large hole near Dawn allowing more water to flow into the ship, Dawn felt the ship tilting again this time throwing her towards the wall knocking her out.

The battle between Ash and the plasma member raged on, Ash had made it to the second flight of stairs only to be greeted by another lot of Plasma elites, "how many of you are there?" Ash asked before noticing a small amount of water covering the lower floor, 'if I don't hurry I will lose Dawn,' Ash thought , while moving towards the stairs. Ash ran down as many of the steps as possible but was pushed back, "get out of my way!" Ash demanded yet again angry at the fact that there were more Plasma grunts sill on the ship.

"All we want is the Light Stone," one of the guards dressed in black replied to Ash's anger.

The trainer chuckled while closing his eyes, "you don't get it, well if you don't get out of my way, then I will force you to get out of my way!" Ash yelled back before Pikachu and Piplup attacked the members of Team Plasma with their powerful attacks, "come on you two on my shoulders," Ash called over to the two pokemon, the trainer walked through the water as it continued to rise, he looked back to see the plasma grunts getting up slowly gasping for air after taking in some water.

Ash looked ahead to see one of the guards standing in his way, "you have gone too far," the guard told Ash while calling out his own Bisharp.

"No I am only just getting warmed up," Ash replied with a smirk while calling out his Lucario again, "how about getting out of my way?" Ash asked the opposing trainer while the water continued to creep slowly near knee height, Ash nodded to Lucario allowing it to unleash a mighty Aura Sphere at the dark type pokemon, Ash slowly made it through the water and passed the plasma guard who was tending to his pokemon. Ash opened the door to find Dawn on the bed knocked out, "Dawn!" Ash called out to the bluenette but she didn't respond to the trainer's call.

Ash quickly made his way to the prison cell to try and open it but was locked preventing Ash from rescuing Dawn, "well it seems like you can't get in without a key," the plasma guard stated while dropping the keys into the water.

Ash smirked before chuckling at the guard, "well you're half right," Ash pointed out, his fighting type pokemon charged towards the cell door and used Force Palm to open the way, the door swung open much to the shock of the plasma guard. Ash rushed in and tried to wake up Dawn who was still out cold, "what happened to you?" Ash asked his girlfriend but still no response, suddenly the ship tilted heavily to one side knocking Ash onto the bed, "great I don't have much time," Ash hissed before getting to his feet again.

Ash picked Dawn up and carried her to the exit of the prison area, he slowly walked as the water continued to rise now waist height, the water levels picking up at an increasing pace, he eventually made it to the second floor, he started to panic knowing that everyone had evacuated from the ship, the two pokemon that had helped him reach Dawn were now on his shoulders. The water had finally covered the third floor and was now moving up to the second floor of the ship, "we better hurry," Ash panicked before he started to run through the halls of the ship, "almost there," Ash assured himself while looking back to see his aura pokemon pointing towards the door, "they looked us in, Lucario, no time open it with Aura Sphere," Ash hurriedly instructed his fighting pokemon.

The steel type formed a ball of aura and threw it at the door and pushed it open, Ash recalled his pokemon and ran out to the top floor and into the leaders room, he ran out of the room while trying to avoid objects falling from the shelves. He made it out to the deck of the ship, before collapsing to the floor after the front of the ship lifted out of the water.

Ash yelled out in pain after he fell onto the wall of the room, "Charizard, we need to get out of here," Ash called out his fire type pokemon, Ash climbed on to the winged pokemon before lifting off the wall of the ship, after gaining enough altitude, Ash looked back to see the front of the ship finally sinking into the water, "any longer and we would have been done for," Ash remarked in shock while looking down to see Dawn stirring from her moment of unconsciousness.

She raised her left hand and placed it on Ash's cheek, "you really are a reckless fool," Dawn silently told Ash with a smile.

Ash chuckled while his fire type pokemon flew back towards the mainland of the Unova region, "I am glad you're fine Dawn," Ash replied with joy.

"You are still very reckless, nothing has changed," Dawn replied sweetly while removing her hand from her love's face, "thank you Ash."

"Anything for the one I love," Ash returned while the stadium become more prominent, the dragon like pokemon flew towards the ground with Hilda and Hilbert waiting for them. After landing at the Pokemon World Tournament the trainer leapt off the orange pokemon with Dawn in his arms.

Hilbert gazed over to Hilda and smiled, "oh look at that he is carrying her bridal style," Hilbert teased much the annoyance of Ash.

Ash gently put Dawn back onto her feet and walked up to Hilbert who was laughing at Ash, "I will get you back for that remark," Ash replied with a cheeky grin, he looked back to see Dawn slowly approaching him, he pulled out Dawn's pokeball's from his pocket and handed them to Dawn, "I looked after them for you," Ash told Dawn happily while the bluenette placed her hands over the pokeballs.

She looked up and stared into Ash's eyes, in a sudden more she placed her arms around the trainer, "you are so reckless," Dawn kept repeating while the other two looked at one another with a smile, they nodded while Ash returned the embrace.

"Well they still need one competitor to make up the final spots," Hilbert told the duo calmly.

Hilda smirked at Dawn before the two girls nodded, "so how about it Dawn, you should enter as well," Hilda suggested with confidence, "so that way I can prove which one of us is better," Hilda remarked while walking over to her friend.

"What do you mean? I have just been through a tough situation," Dawn grinned while turning her gaze to Ash, the couple nodded, "I accept, Ash isn't the only crazy one here," Dawn remarked while stepping up to the main counter to put her name up for the tournament.

The two girls walked away leaving the two trainers to watch their respective girlfriends talking, "may I have a word with you Ash?" Hilbert asked the trainer with concern.

Ash nodded and followed his friend, "what is it Hilbert?" Ash asked Hilbert in reply.

Hilbert turned his gaze to the stadium with memories of his battle with Team Plasma, "this whole situation is concerning me, they wanted the Light Stone, they capture Dawn and they attack the Pokemon World Tournament," Hilbert explained while thinking about his friend's rescue of Dawn.

"Yeah, they said their boss had another five ships like the one that sank off the coast of Unova," Ash retorted with equal concern, while thinking about the battle on the sinking ship, "it was like all of this was to show us what they were capable of, I first thought it wasn't much but this was well planned out," Ash said with a frown while more of his thought's continued towards his battle to rescue Dawn.

Hilbert placed his hands on his chin and started to think again about what was going on, 'they were bluffing about the stadium, my battle was to see if Ash would make any move,' Hilbert wondered while thinking about what would happen next, "hey Ash, they were after the Light Stone, but you also know that there is a Dark Stone as well," Hilbert enquired quickly.

'A Dark Stone?' Ash questioned himself.

"The Dark Stone has already taken shape, but it is controlled by a person Hilda and I defeated," Hilbert said with a smile.

Ash pulled the stone in his possession from his bag, thinking about the second one, "So there is a second one," Ash commented while keeping his eye on the white object in his hands, he looked up to see his friend nod in confirmation, "what they could be after?" Ash asked his friend.

Hilbert looked away knowing that his answer could well be difficult for him to follow, "there is a third dragon Ash, and the two other dragons are able to complete this other dragon," Hilbert stated much to Ash's horror, Ash placed the stone back in his backpack while thinking about what to do next, "you need to make sure that stone doesn't end up with them, or we are in trouble," Hilbert instructed Ash while trying to maintain his composure.

Ash started to think about the legendary pokemon, "Right, I will do whatever it takes to protect this stone, but what if Dawn gets hurt again?" Ash asked as an uneasy feeling ran down his spin.

Hilbert placed his left hand on his friend's shoulder and smiled, "I am sure you would do everything to protect them, plus she did say you were very reckless," Hilbert remarked with laughter.

"Hurry up you two," Hilda and Dawn called over to their respective loved ones in unison.

Ash walked ahead while Hilbert lagged behind, Dawn grabbed Ash's left and rested her head on the trainer's shoulder, "we better hurry," Dawn cheerfully as they walked towards the tournament ground.

Their new friends watched from a distance while the couple remained close talking about their battle on the ship, "come on there were still seven battles to go," Hilda stated while taking Hilbert's arm in the same manner as Dawn.

At the main stadium the crowd had gotten back into their seats, Ash watched the battle from the lounge silently supporting Dawn, "since Ash won his battle, he automatically proceeds to the next round, now onto the next battle," the commentator decreed with a smile, he extended his right hand out, "all the way from the Sinnoh Region the lovely Dawn Berlitz," the commentator introduced the blue haired coordinator with great excitement, "and now her opponent May Maple from the Hoenn region," decreed the man on the microphone.

Ash immediately jumped out of his seat in shock, to see the brunette wearing mostly red walking out to face Dawn in the battle, "what? No way, when did May get here?" Ash asked himself while his partner pokemon glued his eyes to the TV

Out in the battlefield Dawn stood gasping in disbelief, "May, when did you get here?" Dawn asked in amazement.

"About two days ago, I thought it would be fun to have another battle with you," May replied with a smirk, the two coordinators grabbed their pokeballs and nodded at one another, "Herdier, take the stage," May called for a new pokemon, the dog like pokemon with black fur on the back and an intimidating expression.

"Buneary, spotlight," Dawn called for her small bunny like pokemon, the referee raised his flags and signified for the one on one battle to begin, "Buneary attack with Dizzy Punch," Dawn instructed her pokemon.

"Herdier return the favour with Crunch," May ordered her normal type pokemon.

The two opposing pokemon charged at one another, the dog like pokemon bared its glowing white fangs at the smaller pokemon, Buneary used her ears to punch the opposing pokemon, but Herdier leapt into the air to dodge the attack and landed its own attack dealing moderate amount of damage to the rabbit like pokemon, "wow May has gotten better," Dawn stated with awe, her pokemon fell back after taking the hit.

Ash watched the battle unfold in the lounged showing concern for Dawn who was on the back foot from the first attack, "come on Dawn, you can do it," Ash cheered in the room while Hilda and Hilbert watched the battle on the large screen.

"Hey Ash, do you know the other girl as well?" Hilbert asked his friend, he pointed to coordinator clad in red.

"Yeah she is my friend from the Hoenn region, her name it May Maple," Ash retorted while the woman mentioned commanded her pokemon to attack with Take Down, at that same time Dawn called her pokemon to attack with Ice Beam, while charging towards the small bunny pokemon Herdier took a powerful ice type attack knocking it back towards the Hoenn native.

The crowd roared so loudly that it could be heard from the lounge the two women weren't holding anything back, "this battle is really picking up, these two aren't holding anything back," the commentator explained with great enthusiasm.

The two girls stood waiting for the other to attack, "if you won't call for an attack, Herdier attack with Hyper Beam!" May impatiently called for her next attack.

Dawn shook her head in disbelief knowing that May had made a slight mistake, "Buneary use Bounce," Dawn replied to May's instructions, Buneary leapt into the air while a destructive beam was fired at the ground that the smaller pokemon stood on, dust was kicked up after the attack leaving the dog like pokemon and the trying to search for Dawn's pokemon.

"Herdier, wait for the dust to settle," May ordered her pokemon calmly.

Dawn's pokemon crashed down onto the unsuspecting opponent hit it with a mighty blow, after the dust had settled Herdier was on the ground injured from the powerful attack, just as the small pokemon leapt back to Dawn's side she started to glow a pure white, growing taller and her ears growing longer, the glowing had stopped and a tall mostly brown pokemon with cream pelt from each ear, hands and feet, "my Buneary evolved into Lopunny," Dawn stated, shocked to see one of her pokemon evolve during the battle, but excited to see her first pokemon caught evolve.

The crowd started to get excited again with the new evolution, "wow Dawn's pokemon pulled off an amazing evolution, how will this decide the battle?" the commentator asked with certainty.

Dawn and May nodded knowing that the next attack would decide the battle, "one more attack," May decreed while keeping an eye out for the exhausted pokemon, "Herdier attack with Hyper Beam," May Instructed her pokemon with supreme confidence.

"Dodge it then use Return," Dawn called for the counter attack.

Just before the loyal dog pokemon could fire the powerful beam it was stopped by an arch of lightning around its body, May gasped in shock to see that her pokemon succumbed to paralysis, "no Herdier!" May called to her in astonishment, her pokemon tried to move but was unable to, in one quick move the rabbit pokemon, charged towards the opposing pokemon slamming into it with all her might, "Herdier!" May called out to her pokemon in bewilderment. The referee raised the flag up to signify that Dawn had won her battle, the two girls recalled their respective pokemon then walked up to one another.

Dawn extended her hand with a confident grin, "that was a great battle May," Dawn said appreciatively.

May met her friend's hand and shook it proudly, "I will not lose next time," May promised with a confident grin. The two coordinators turned around to walk back to the competitor lounge. May looked back and thought about how things were going between her and Ash, 'I wonder how those two are going,' May thought with a bright smile.

"Alright that battle was amazing, now on to the next battle, Hilbert will now be facing off against a Paul from the Sinnoh Region," the while introducing the new competitors to the arena, Hilbert walked out of the lounge passing May in the meantime.

"So it's true you two are going out," May smugly smiled at her friends, "I thought you were both lying on the phone, had to come here to make sure," May explained while looking at the hands entwined by, the brunette walked up to the duo and placed her hands on her hips, "just make sure when you get married that I become the bridesmaid," May forced the issue.

"Um no that goes to me," Hilda replied in anger.

The two brunettes turned to one another glaring with all their might, like shooting daggers, "no it will be me," May retorted with fury.

"Hey ladies calm down, we aren't getting married yet, we aren't even old enough," Ash said with a nervous smile, he scratched the back of his head and chuckled slightly, but that was ignored as the two brunettes continued to argue, "he come you two, Dawn and I really want to focus on our journey," Ash stressed the point to the two girls.

"You stay out of this Ash!" the two girls yelled in unison causing the trainer to jump back in shock.

Dawn walked over to Ash and placed her left hand on his right shoulder, "no need to worry Ash, it isn't like we are going to take our vows anytime soon," Dawn remarked with laughter, she turned her focus to the TV to watch the battle between Hilbert and Paul, "seems like Paul has gotten better," Dawn acknowledged watching him emerge victorious from his battle with Hilbert.

"What no way, Hilbert lost?" Hilda cried out with sadness.

"The next battle will be between Hilda and Bianca, two great friends, from the same town," the commentator decreed.

Hilda looked back to glare at May who continued to glare at her in return, "this is not over May," Hilda remarked in fury.

"That's right I will be the one who becomes Dawn's bridesmaid," May yelled back embarrassing their friends greatly.

Ash and Dawn looked to the ground in shame, knowing that they will never hear the end of this new rivalry, "why us?" Ash and Dawn asked in unison, shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders at the same time. Ash and Dawn walked out of the lounge room not wanting to see what happens next after Hilda makes her return, walking out silently not wanting to garner any attention from their friends.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief while he and Dawn walked out of the hallway and onto the streets of the World Tournament, "well at least we are not in the lounge anymore," Ash complained with a sad smile.

"Agreed," Dawn replied, she looked around to see the game stalls before grabbing a hold of her boyfriend's arm, "hey Ash, while we're at it win something for me," Daw chimed happily while their respective pokemon partner's watched the two walk through the streets and towards the game of choice.

Ash and Dawn slowly made it towards the game, through the massive crowd, "so this game would do nicely," Ash replied with a smile, he placed the money on the table and received the basketballs to shoot, "so I have to make three shots in a row," Ash acknowledged quietly, the game master nodded happily.

"And if you make all three shots, you get a rare pokemon from this region," the man replied.

Dawn watched Ash make the first two shots with ease, and waited for Ash pick up the next ball, she watched the trainer throw the ball, the ball spun around the ring, for what seemed like forever until it finally dropped down the hoop, "you won Ash," Dawn cheered with joy while the game master showed Ash three of the pokemon he was giving away.

The first was a small green pokemon with two tusks coming from its mouth, the second was a slightly large pokemon colored mostly blue and black with fur covering its eyes and the third was a mostly blue and white pokemon that looked like an ice cream cone, "Ash, I want the ice cream like pokemon," Dawn pleaded with Ash.

Ash nodded and picked the pokeball for Dawn, "here you go," Ash replied while handing Dawn her new pokemon, Dawn called out the pokemon to see it for the first time, the small pokemon, used Icy Wind on Dawn to greet the bluenette, causing Ash to burst out into laughter while Dawn's hair stuck out on end.

Ash continued to laugh at Dawn's expense, she started to get irritated, "this is not funny Ash," Dawn yelled at Ash, she recalled her new pokemon, while Ash tried everything to stop laughing, he lifted his right hand up and got ready to call out Dawn's nickname, "don't even think about it."

"Come on Dawn, let's go and get something to eat," Ash suggested while trying to contain his laughter.

Ash and Dawn grabbed a pizza and walked to the beach to eat the pizza, they sat down and opened up the box, listening to the waves crashing onto the shore and the gentle sea breeze coming in, Dawn's hair had finally thawed out after a while, Ash watched her brush her hair back in place, "what if we battle in the final?" Dawn asked the raven haired trainer.

"Well the competitive part of me says to thrash you in battle," Ash replied with a cheeky grin.

"Gee thanks Ash," Dawn sarcastically replied while taking another slice of pizza.

"But the really nice person that I am, is telling me just to enjoy having a battle with you," Ash finished while going his third slice of pizza.

After finishing their pizza the couple listened to commentary to hear that Hilda had won her battle, "you know something Ash?" Dawn questioned, she expanded her gaze out towards the horizon, "it seems like Hilda and May have a little rivalry, I am a little scared to return in case they have a pokemon battle," Dawn joked, she gained a more serious expression and closed her eyes, "but I have been thinking Ash," Dawn declared calmly.

Ash looked over to Dawn wondering what she was going to say, "yes Dawn, what is it?" Ash curiously asked his girlfriend.

"I have been thinking, maybe we should make plans," Dawn replied seriously.

"Dawn, why now? We are still not old enough," Ash replied in shock.

Dawn watched the waves crashing onto the shore and started to chuckle, "maybe I am thinking that because, I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life with anyone else," Dawn confirmed openly, she stood up and stretched out her arms, "your actions today confirmed that for me," Dawn explained while she watched the sun setting, "saving my life, I never want to leave your side ever," Dawn promised Ash happily.

Ash smiled proudly and nodded, "how can I say no to that?" Ash asked with a smirk. The raven haired trainer got to his feet and grabbed Dawn's hands, "alright then, we will make those plans but only after we finish up here," Ash returned the promise with a smile.

"Fine, after this journey," Dawn submitted happily. The couple watched the sunset, they continued to watch the golden disc slip below the horizon. The two turned to one another and gazed into each other's eyes, smiling at the same time, the two leaned in getting closer without hesitation. After a short moment they pressed their lips onto one another closing their eyes taking in the moment, ignoring everything around them.

Dawn placed her arms over Ash's shoulders continuing to enjoy their kiss, after a few seconds the two pulled back with smiles, "I love you Dawn," Ash declared with a proud smile.

"I love you too Ash," Dawn replied before jumping up forcing Ash to catch her, "now carry me back to the World Tournament," Dawn demanded with a cheeky smile.

"Do I have to?" Ash asked complaining about the new task.

"Yes you do," Dawn replied playfully causing trainer to sigh in disbelief.

Ash slowly walked towards the Pokemon World Tournament while carrying Dawn while the two partner pokemon followed them, 'my friends will never let me live it down now,' Ash thought with a frown, but he still didn't seem to mind this, 'but still anything for Dawn,' Ash said while looking down to see Dawn starting to fall asleep in his arms.

* * *

**I hope you liked this really long chapter, I played it in two parts with a sweet ending to the chapter, which I hope you all liked, might have been fluffy but I don't care.**

**Who will win the tournament? What of this new rivalry between Hilda and May? And why is Paul in the Unova Region?**

**Next time chapter 16: Rivalry Rekindled**


	16. Rivalry Rekindled

**Chapter 16: Rivarly Rekindled.**

_Alright people have been asking me about what happens between Lopunny and Pikachu, well I will attempt to answer that this chapter. 20,000 hits, wow guys thanks for all the support, I really appreciate it you guys are just awesome._

* * *

Ash and Dawn sat at the table trying to ignore the arguments between May and Hilda, the people in the medical facility watching them causing embarrassment, between the group, trying to ignore the yelling while Hilbert tried to calm his girlfriend down, Paul walked up to Ash with a grin, "seems like you two have created quite the stir," Paul remarked while bringing his plate to the table, the trio looked over to May and Hilda continuing their argument, "I guess Drew would be a little upset with May's act," Paul sighed while picking up a pancake .

"No you cannot be Dawn's bridesmaid; I have been her best friend for four years!" May yelled out with anger, clenching her fists while the two women glared at each other furiously.

"Well, I have idolised the two since before my journey began, in fact I have idolised Ash and Dawn since I was ten years old, those two are the reason why I became a trainer, plus Dawn and I are really good friends!" Hilda argued with even more ferocity, she turned over to Dawn with an angered expression which quickly turned to a smile, "right Dawn?" Hilda enquired as sweetly as she could possibly muster.

"Oh no keep me out of the argument," Dawn replied maturely, she turned back to her food, "so Paul what brings you to the Unova region?" Dawn asked with a smile.

"Well Ash wasn't the only one to train for a couple of years, I came here because I heard he was in this region, so I decided it would be really nice to restart our rivalry," Paul explained with a smug smile, he grabbed another bit of food and placed it in his mouth.

"So Paul how many badges have you won?" Ash questioned his rival with hope.

After finishing his breakfast Paul, grabbed the badge case from his pocket and opened it, "I would say six badges," Paul replied much to the horror of Ash. "I take it you have won less badges than me, not to worry Ash, the Unova League is still six months away," Paul assured Ash while picking up his plate and took it to the sink.

"I am behind Paul again," Ash said with a depressed tone.

Dawn put her right hand on the trainers shoulder affectionately, "no need to worry, Paul didn't seem to think it was a race, he seems to want a rematch against you," Dawn reassured Ash with a smile, she noticed that Ash remained upset about lagging behind his rival, "no need to worry," Dawn told Ash before kissing him on the cheek.

Ash watched Dawn walked away and placed his hand on the spot he was kissed, he seemed more at ease after his girlfriend's kiss, he smiled to himself, knowing that Dawn was right, he looked at the badge case and opened it to see his five badges, "you know Pikachu, Dawn is right, there is no need to worry," Ash remarked while his partner started sipping ketchup from the bottle in front of him, meanwhile a large brown pokemon with cream colored pelt walked nervously towards the small yellow pokemon, "oh no, hey Pikachu look," Ash teased his partner pokemon who quickly spotted the rabbit pokemon

Lopunny slowly walked over to Pikachu with sadness, Pikachu walked up to the larger pokemon and gave it a berry, trying to assure her that it was still the same affectionate pokemon, Ash watched Pikachu comfort Lopunny before grabbing an item from his pocket, he looked at the green item with a lightning shape through the middle and thought about the possibility of evolving his Pikachu, he looked up to see his partner pokemon smiling at him, "you know buddy, I kind of feel sorry for Lopunny, she really likes you," Ash said with concerned expression before walking up to Dawn's newly evolved pokemon, "hey are you alright?" Ash asked the rabbit pokemon, smiling at her but Lopunny looked to the ground saddened by evolving during the battle, "hey come on Lopunny," Ash started before laughing at himself, "did Dawn ever give up on me? Don't give up on Pikachu," Ash whispered before being shocked by his starter pokemon.

The group of friends looked back to see Ash on the ground with sparks of electricity leaping from his body, "wow, Ash you seems to have angered your partner pokemon," May said while grabbing another plate of food.

Dawn walked into the main foyer and spotted Ash on the floor, she smacked her head with her right palm and shook her head, "Ash what exactly did you say to my Lopunny?" Dawn questioned her boyfriend.

Ash sat up and scratched the back of his head, nervously smiling at the bluenette who shrugged her shoulders, "I just told your Lopunny not to give up on my Pikachu," Ash replied with a smirk.

Dawn giggled at what Ash did for her pokemon, "that is sweet Ash, but this is something those two need to sort out," Dawn replied, she knelt down and looked down at Ash, "you know Ash, we still have a tournament to finish," Dawn remarked before extending her left hand towards Ash's right hand, Ash got back to his feet and nodded with a smile, 'I get the feeling that we have gotten much closer,' Dawn thought with a gentle smile.

_(2 hours later)_

The crowd had set in, the last four competitors walked up to centre stage, Ash, Dawn, Hilda and Paull looked around to see the cheering crowd , the MC walked up microphone in hand ready to declare the semi-finals, "after last night's quarter finals, we are now down to four powerful competitors," the commentator decreed while the four trainers waved at the crowds, the pictures of the trainers started to jumble up, leaving the crowd anticipating who will face one another in the next round of battles, "here are our battles, it will be Ash against Paul while the other semi-final will be between Dawn and Hilda!" the MC yelled out with great enthusiasm.

Ash and Paul turned their gaze to each other and nodded with a smirk, "you aren't the only one to have trained really hard for two years," Paul smugly told Ash before walking to his side of the battlefield.

Ash walked to his side and got ready to see what Paul was going to call out for their battle, "Pikachu, I choose you," Ash called over to his ever fateful partner in battle.

"Ursaring, standby for battle," Paul called out a large brown bear like pokemon, the referee signalled for the battle to begin.

The crowd grew silent waiting for the two rivals to start the battle, a silence so strong even the wind could be heard blowing around the arena, "Ursaring start things off with Brick Break," Paul told his pokemon.

"Pikachu, counter with Iron Tail," Ash called for the counter. The two opposing pokemon charged at one another, the Hibernator pokemon with purple claws and Pikachu with a stiffened tail, the two pokemon collided with incredible force causing a powerful shockwave that forced the two pokemon back towards their trainers. Ash let loose a smile as his electric mouse got back to his feet, "finally an interesting battle," Ash commented while Paul acknowledged the same thing.

"Yes this battle will be great, now Ursaring, attack with Slash," Paul ordered his normal type pokemon.

"Alright time to show you a few new tricks I have picked up, Pikachu dodge Ursaring with Volt Tackle," Ash commanded. The electric pokemon dodged the attack with a thunderous aura, "now use Thunderbolt," Ash instructed his pokemon quickly, much to everyones surprise Pikachu used the same aura to power up his next attack sending a powerful blast of electricity towards the opposing pokemon.

Paul laughed slightly as his pokemon was brought to its knees, "not bad, not bad at all," Paul commented while his pokemon was released from the merciless Thunderbolt, "now it's my turn, Ursaring attack with Crunch," Paul replied to Ash's attack.

Ash smiled at his rival, "Pikachu, attack with Volt Tackle," Ash counted his rival, the two pokemon charged at one another with great ferocity, neither one back down and the crowd cheering getting louder in the background, the two pokemon collided with immense power.

After the powerful attacks landed the two pokemon flew through the air towards their respective trainers. The combatants fell to the ground and slowly got up, they looked at one another panting, "what a battle this is, neither trainer backing down, it seems like the next attack will do it in this round," the commentator recited with joy, becoming so excited the energy of the crowd continued to cheer loudly as the trainers smirked at one another.

"Hmph this battle has been the best I have had in the last two years," Paul explained while his Ursaring got to its feet and roared at the small yellow pokemon.

Pikachu got to his feet with sparks flying from his cheeks, Ash nodded in approval, "it's great to have an equal in this region," Ash added, his pokemon getting ready to unleash the next attack on the opposing pokemon, "wait for it Pikachu."

Paul waited patiently but was soon getting frustrated with the prolonged wait for any attack, "Brick Break," Paul issued his command.

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball," Ash commanded with confidence.

The much larger pokemon ran towards the smaller pokemon, the electric mouse pokemon leapt into the air and formed a ball of electricity from the tail. Pikachu sent the ball of energy towards the hibernator pokemon. "A new attack," Paul stated in shock, he watched in amazement seeing his pokemon fall to the ground once again, the Sinnoh native smiled submissively and recalled his pokemon from the battle.

Ash walked up to his partner pokemon then walked over to Paul, "so you want to challenge me again?" Ash questioned, he extended his right hand out.

"That's right, I want another full battle against you at the Unova League," Paul retorted before extending his hand out to meet Ash's the two shook hands, "next time I will win," Paul finished with a smile.

Ash chuckled while nodding, "so another battle another time."

"That's right," Paul acknowledged, he let go of his rival's hand and walked back to the trainers lounge.

"What a battle, let's hope the next one lives up to that standard!" The MC yelled out with great excitement.

Ash walked towards the hall with Pikachu by his side, he spotted Dawn running towards the battlefield, Ash smiled at her and raised his hand, Dawn raised her hand and gave him a high five, "see you in the finals Ash," Dawn decreed with her usual confidence as she passed him and made it to the entrance.

Hilda approached her side of the battlefield with Dawn taking her side at the same time, "time to see this battle of the beauties here, who will win this battle, the Sinnoh native Dawn or our very own Hilda?" the MC questioned while the two girls got ready to battle.

"Stunfisk, time to sparkle," Hilda called out a brown flat fish like pokemon with a yellow tail.

"Piplup Spotlight," Dawn called for her starter pokemon.

Hilda looked at the small penguin pokemon and started to giggle at Dawn, "unless you realise my Stunfisk is part electric type," Hilda lectured Dawn.

Dawn smiled at the opposing trainer, "and what is the other type?" Dawn asked calmly, after hearing the question Hilda grew silent as she watched Dawn pull out her pokedex, Dawn scanned the Trap pokemon and looked up to Hilda, "you do know that Stunfisk is also a ground type?" Dawn replied with laughter.

"Stunfisk attack with Discharge," Hilda replied with frustration.

"Quick Piplup use Ice Beam," Dawn quickly replied.

the Trap pokemon unleashed a powerful array of electricity in every direction, Piplup dodged the attacks and unleashed a frigid beam towards the opposing pokemon, Hilda watched in disbelief as her pokemon became instantly frozen , "Stunfisk!" Hilda yelled out while the frozen block of ice appeared in front of her.

The electric type pokemon tried to free itself but it wasn't successful, "Piplup help it out with Drill Peck," Dawn sighed, the small pokemon extended his beak out and charged towards the ice block, the small penguin leapt into the air and spun around before shattering the ice with a mighty attack.

Hilda looked on in shock, she couldn't believe that Dawn had helped her out, "why did you save me from defeat?" Hilda asked with her fists clenched.

Dawn smiled at her friend while her pokemon landed in front of her puffing out his chest, "because Hilda, I want you to at least have a chance against me," Dawn replied with a bubbly smile. After replying Dawn regained a serious expression while Hilda took a step back.

"Mud Shot now," Hilda gave out her order.

"Piplup, attack with Hydro Pump," Dawn replied quickly.

Piplup formed a pool of water in front of his beak before sending a powerful torrent of water towards the ground type pokemon who had unleashed a volley of mud at the penguin pokemon, the two powerful attacks bypassed and landed on their respective foes dealing significant damage to them, Piplup was faster to get up but Stunfisk who had received significant damage from before remained on the ground unable to battle, the referee lifted up his flag and declared Dawn the winner of the battle, "might not have been the most exciting battle, but we did see a great deal of sportsmanship in this battle!" the MC decreed with a smile, Hilda recalled her pokemon and walked to the middle of the battlefield with Dawn approaching her. The two trainers shook hands and smiled, "the two girls shaking hands after a battle, what a mark of respect for one another."

Dawn looked around to see the main screen dominating the arena with the people in front of it, "hey Hilda, I would like to battle you again sometime," Dawn suggested before turning around to get back to the lounge room.

"I would love to have another battle Dawn," Hilda replied before heading back to the competitors lounge, she walked back with tears starting to well up, but hid her embarrassment from her friends, "I can't believe how good Dawn is, even for a coordinator," Hilda told herself before entering the trainer's room, she looked around to see Hilbert and Ash talking before hearing Dawn enter the room.

Ash and Hilbert turned around to see their respective girlfriends enter the room behind them, "hey that was a good battle," the two men stated in unison.

"Yeah, but I really wanted to battle Ash," Hilda said with disappointment.

"Come on Hilda, you still have a chance to battle me, why not go and collect the badges and enter the Unova League?" Ash suggested with a smile.

"Yeah Hilda that's the best way for you to battle Ash, a couple of our friends are doing that, we haven't heard from them in a while," Dawn stated as she walked further into the room.

"Really, two more people want to battle Ash?" Hilda asked while regaining her smile.

"No there is another, his name is Tobias, the real reason why I am competing in the Unova League," Ash confessed quietly while Hilda looked at him in shock.

"You mean the trainer with a Darkrai?" Hilda questioned her friend.

Ash nodded with a frown, "the last time I battled him, I was destroyed."

"Yes and you disappeared for two years Ash," Dawn remarked angrily.

Ash looked to the ground in shame before getting up, he walked to the entrance of the room, "didn't I say sorry for leaving you and mom like that?" Ash asked coolly. Ash walked out of the room leaving Dawn to ponder about what she said. Ash walked towards the exit, he stopped when Dawn called out his name, "you have nothing to worry about Dawn, I was just thinking about the opponents I have in this league, it's starting to get a little overwhelming," Ash professed quietly, he grabbed one of his pokeballs and thought about the time he was gone. Thinking about some of the things he had learnt while in his self-imposed exile.

"Ash what are you thinking about?" Dawn asked her boyfriend, she took his arm and turned him around.

"I was thinking about my training, I wanted to come back to you so many times, but I knew that I couldn't show my face until I was strong enough to battle the best trainers," Ash explained while looking at his pokeball again, "I was always thinking about the mistakes I made and how I can get better by learning from my mistakes."

Dawn turned around before gazing over her shoulder, "no need to worry Ash, I am just happy that you were thinking about me over those two years," Dawn commented happily.

Ash and Dawn walked to the battlefield after their names were called for the battle, Ash lagged behind, "I will take it easy in this battle," Ash whispered to himself while placing his pokeball back on his belt. The trainer slowly marched down the hallway and back on to the battlefield where the crowd was cheering for the two, Ash made it to his side of the battlefield keeping his eyes on Dawn, "hope you're ready Dawn," Ash called over to Dawn.

"No need to worry Ash," Dawn winked at the trainer before picking her pokemon to battle Ash, "Lopunny, spotlight," Dawn called for her pokemon in the battle.

"Lucario, I choose you," Ash called out his pokemon to battle Dawn.

"I thought you were going to hold back in this battle," Dawn commented with a smile. The referee raised his flags for the final battle of the world tournament, this signal gave Dawn the chance she needed to immediately go on the attack, "Lopunny, start things off with Dizzy Punch."

Ash and Lucario stood on the spot and watched the rabbit pokemon approach him, "Lucario, use Bone Rush," Ash commanded lazily while waving his right hand in a carefree manner.

Meanwhile back in the trainer's lounge the group of friends were watching the battle unfold, "what is Ash doing?" May asked out loud in frustration.

The group watched the aura pokemon lightly hit the rabbit pokemon on the head with the bone staff, Paul stood behind the group with his arms crossed with a smug grin on his face, "he is holding back," Paul replied, he started to chuckle before leaving the room to commence his journey, "he doesn't want to end it to quickly he wants to let the crowd have a good time," Paul explained as he opened the door.

The group watched as another attack from Lopunny was repelled but this time by a powerful Force Palm, "now Lopunny attack with Return," Dawn commanded her pokemon. The friends continued to watch the battle but knew that Dawn was out matched by her boyfriend in this battle.

"Lucario, use Force Palm again," Ash replied to Dawn's command

Back on the battlefield the two attacks landed pushing Lopunny back. She was panting heavily while Lucario showed no signs of fatigue, "wow this battle is really starting to wind down," the MC said while the crowd cheered loudly.

Ash and Dawn nodded again this time signally for Ash to just win this battle, "alright Dawn, Lucario finish this battle with Aura Sphere."

A powerful ball of blue energy, the aura pokemon catapulted the sphere at the rabbit pokemon knocking her out in an instant. After the attack cleared Ash was declared the winner of the tournament, Dawn walked up to Ash after recalling her pokemon, "like you could have held back on that or something," Dawn joked while Lucario scratched the back of its head at the same time as its trainer.

"Sorry about that Dawn," Ash replied with slight humiliation. After their time at the battlefield Ash was presented with the winner's trophy and was offered a battle against the champion of the region, "no thanks, I really want to continue my journey," Ash replied to the offer, he looked over to Dawn and smiled at her.

Ash and Dawn walked away from the world Tournament to commence their journey, Ash looked at his trophy and called out one of his pokemon, "Ash what are you going to do with that Trophy?" Dawn asked serenely.

Ash looked at his fire type pokemon and handed him the trophy, "I will be sending it back with Charizard," Ash replied with a smile. "but first let's go to Driftveil City," Ash declared before climbing on to his fire type pokemon, he extended his hand out allowing Dawn to take it, she jumped on while Pikachu rested on the head of the large fire type pokemon.

Charizard took off for the quick flight to Driftveil leaving behind the tournament, "Ash, I think we forgot something," Dawn said with concern.

"Nothing to be concerned about, we will see them again," Ash promised with a calm smile.

After landing in Driftveil City, Ash leapt off his fire type pokemon and waited for Dawn to jump off, "if you miss Ash, I will make you regret it," Dawn openly told Ash with a frown, she jumped off and landed in Ash's arms, "you're lucky."

Ash smiled at Dawn before placing her on the ground, "I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

_(2 days later)_

After resting at the Pokemon Centre for the last two days Ash and Dawn set off towards their next destination, the weather was warm and the breeze gentle, they looked back to see the city behind them and then the road ahead of them, nothing they wanted to see what would happen next, putting the events of the rescue behind them.

Ash and Dawn walked towards the road seeing the pokemon playing in the grass, they walked towards a place where they could sit and view the scenery together, they let out their pokemon to play in the area while they sat next to each other to relax after their long journey so far, "it's so good to relax," Dawn said while stretching out her arms and falling onto the soft green grass, she looked up to the sky to see the white fluffy clouds moving across the blue sky, wind sweeping across the fields and the sun hanging overhead.

"Yeah, it is good to relax every now and then," Ash commented quietly.

Dawn looked over to Ash with a smile, "want me to make lunch?" Dawn asked her boyfriend.

Ash nodded and looked over to his friend who was being chased by Dawn's Lopunny, he burst out into laughter seeing the much larger pokemon chasing after his Pikachu, "Lopunny is pretty persistent don't you agree?" Ash asked Dawn while holding back tears from his laughter.

"Reminds me of, me," Dawn replied as she watched her pokemon finally catch up to Pikachu.

"Why does it remind you of yourself?" Ash asked perplexed with Dawn's comment.

Dawn got up and got ready to make lunch for the two of them and their pokemon, she looked over to Ash with a cheeky smile.

"Come on Dawn tell me," Ash demanded while getting up to get Dawn to respond.

Dawn started to giggled but continued to prepare her lunch teasing Ash by raising her finger to pretend to respond to his question, "it's nothing important Ash," Dawn replied but it wasn't enough for Ash to accept the response from his girlfriend.

"Dawn, I don't accept that answer," Ash retorted with frustration, "I really want to l know what you meant Lopunny reminds you of yourself," Ash continued to enquire trying to keep his cool.

"Alright if you must know," Dawn submitted as she began to cook lunch, she turned her attention to Ash and smiled sweetly at him, "any girl would have to be persistent to wait for you to return," Dawn answered with laughter.

"Oh that is real nice of you Dawn," Ash replied with sarcasm before flicking Dawn on the forehead.

Dawn cringed slightly after being flicked on her forehead, "if you want lunch I would recommend that you never do that again," Dawn teased with a playful grin.

"What you mean this," Ash replied as he lightly flicked Dawn's nose.

"That's it you're going down," Dawn remarked before tackling Ash to the ground, she pushed Ash's hands to the ground holding the in place, "are you sure you want to do that again?" Dawn asked with a cheeky grin, Ash shook his head before being released by Dawn, "good, now I can get to making lunch," Dawn declared before getting back to the table.

"You sure got strong Dawn," Ash confessed with a nervous smile.

"No you just wouldn't hurt a delicate girl like me," Dawn replied joyfully.

Ash lowered his head with a nervous smile and laughed in agreement, "well I did hurt you Dawn, not physically but emotionally, when I left for two years, I am certain that you were hurting because of what I did," Ash said in a more serious tone, he sat up and thought about his time away. "I might have trained for two years without returning, but in that time I felt something was missing," Ash proclaimed with a sigh.

"Me was it?" Dawn asked her love with a smile, Ash nodded quietly before getting to his feet.

"In reality Dawn, I guess it was two months after we initially started to travel," Ash replied with a gulp.

"Two months?" Dawn asked before remembering something on that day, "oh right the first time you asked me out," Dawn remembered with a sad smile before scratching the back of her head, "yeah I didn't know what you were doing," Dawn remarked with a slight giggle, she took the plate of food and put it on the table. "I guess at one stage we were both hopeless when it came to love," Dawn laughed at her own expense knowing that she was foolish as well.

"Yeah at that time I was making a complete fool of myself," Ash retorted with a chuckle, he noticed Dawn nodding, "but as our journey went on and it got closer to the Sinnoh League, something happened to me," Ash stated while looking up to the sky, he watched the clouds pass by holding his fork in one hand and a bread roll in the other.

Dawn stared at Ash for a moment with a smile, "what was it Ash?" Dawn enquired wanting to hear more from the trainer. The silence was unbearable for Dawn, she wanted to know what Ash was going to say, she tried to move her hand, "tell me Ash," Dawn demanded with her hand clenched around the fork in her hand.

Ash turned his attention back to Dawn and smiled at her, he placed some food in his mouth, after swallowing the food Ash returned his focus to Dawn, "I discovered that I was in love with the most wonderful person."

"What really? Why didn't you say something before you left?" Dawn asked in amazement.

Ash looked at his food and chuckled slightly, "I just didn't know how to say it to you, I was so nervous at the time, from Snowpoint City to the Sinnoh League I wanted to tell you how I felt," Ash snickered while looking up to his pokemon to see them eating peacefully, "I wasn't sure if you were going to turn me down at the time," Ash stated with a grin.

Dawn laughed at herself before turning her gaze to Ash, "I guess that makes it two," Dawn stated with laughter, Dawn watched their pokemon falling asleep while Ash and Dawn continued to conversation, they continued to talk about their journeys together and reminiscing on the Sinnoh League, the two continued to enjoy it while eating Dawn's cook meal.

Ash and Dawn continued to laugh before an idea popped into Ash's head, "I have an idea, let's camp under the stars tonight, we haven't done that in a while," Ash suggested with confidence.

Dawn picked up the plates and walked over to the water to wash the dishes, "I would love to Ash," Dawn replied with a warm smile.

Ash walked up to the dish water and helped Dawn clean up the lunchtime mess, they looked into one another's eyes happy that they continued to compliment the other, "there is something you need to know Dawn, I didn't just train in Johto for a while," Ash said with a grin, he continued to help Dawn clean the dishes and remembered the time he was in another region, "I was in another region, there was this City with a large tower in the centre, and people riding on these pokemon that I have never seen before," Ash described the city to Dawn, she listened in wonder about the city, it was new to her and the idea of people riding on pokemon.

"Can you remember the Cities name and what region that was?" Dawn questioned Ash about the region.

"I can't remember Dawn, all I do know was the promise I made myself after seeing that city," Ash reminded himself after finishing the dishes with Dawn, "I promised myself that the next time I visit that region I would want you there with me," Ash stated much to Dawn's delight.

* * *

**Yes I did reference the new region, but that's all I could do at the moment, we still don't know enough about it so I will leave it at that for now, I hope you all liked this longer chapter and a bit of Ash's and Dawn's past reveal in this one as well.**

**Next time chapter 17: The dragon's resolve.**

**Ash and Dawn will be capturing a new pokemon each in the next chapter I have chosen Ash's next catch, but for Dawn, I will leave that to you guys.**


	17. Dragon's Resolve

**Chapter 17: Dragon's resolve**

_Alright there are a few things that I need to point out, first the last chapter was a tease for a future story for Ash and Dawn, a sequel. Please enjoy this next chapter._

* * *

Ash and Dawn were laying in their sleeping bags looking up to the night sky after having dinner, the sounds of the night time pokemon echoing through the fields, the stars sparkling brightly and the full moon hanging overhead, "what a relaxing scene," Dawn chimed, the watched the night sky thinking about what Ash said earlier in the day, she turned her attention to Ash and warmly grinned at him, "so Ash when will we go to that region?" Dawn whispered.

"How about after we get married," Ash joked around.

Dawn sighed before looking back up to the stars of the night sky, wondering what the new region was like, something she wanted to see, "no Ash, I am serious, I really want to see that region."

Ash sniggered a little, he turned over to Dawn and noticed that she was about to fall asleep, "I might have been joking, but I was also being serious as well," Ash replied with a proud expression, leaving Dawn in shock about his answer, "we will see that region, like I said, I want you there with me," Ash told Dawn happily, Ash waited for Dawn to reply but found that she had fallen asleep in her sleeping bag. After seeing Dawn falling asleep he looked over to the sleeping pokemon and began to think about the region he had visited for a short time, "good night Dawn."

After eight hours of sleep Dawn woke up before Ash and walked towards a secluded area to get cleaned up, after leaving the area Dawn looked back in hopes that Ash wasn't awake, "I hope he doesn't see me get cleaned up," Dawn whispered to herself while sneaking away, taking a towel with her and her supply of toiletries.

Ash remained asleep until a he started to get hungry from the long nights worth of sleep, he forced his eyes open and looked around to find that Dawn was no longer in her sleeping bag, he pushed himself up and got out of his sleeping bag, "she must be getting some breakfast," Ash commented quietly as to not wake his and Dawn's pokemon from their slumber, 'might help her out,' Ash thought as he walked off to gather some fire wood so Dawn could cook their breakfast.

Ash continued to walk through the area picking up sticks and even some berries for their breakfast, it was then that Ash walked to water front of a secluded lake not knowing that Dawn was there, as he walked passed his foot got stuck on between some roots of a tree, "come on dammit," Ash whispered before a stone was thrown at him barely missing his head, "hey what the hell was that for?" Ash asked before turning his attention to Dawn who was covering herself up.

Dawn picked up another stone and got ready to throw it at Ash, "you pervert Ash!" Dawn yelled out in anger.

Ash tried to dodge the stone but it hit his left arm while he tried to loosen his foot from the roots sticking out of the ground, "my foot got stuck and I thought you were out getting stuff for our breakfast!" Ash replied before removing his foot from the roots of the tree and running back towards the camp fearing for his very existence.

After half an hour Dawn returned back to camp seething with anger, she glared at Ash, "never knew you would do such a thing Ash," Dawn berated Ash while scowling at him she placed her towel on the line to let it dry up, she crossed her arms and approached him, "there was no reason why you should have taken the chance to take a peek!" Dawn yelled, Ash tried to reply but Dawn wasn't about to let him, "why did you do it?" Dawn asked furiously.

"It was an accident, I was gathering firewood to help you prepare breakfast," Ash tried to profess his innocence, he pointed over to a pile of fire wood to further prove his innocence, but Dawn was still angry at Ash, she walked up to Ash and slapped him across the face. Ash placed his hand across his face rubbing the place that was slapped, 'but it was an accident, my foot got stuck, and I didn't know you were there,' Ash thought while watching Dawn walking up to the cooking pot to prepare breakfast.

Dawn mixed the pancake batter in a furious manner, leaving Ash stunned from her actions, "for the stunt you pulled this morning, I will have you make your own breakfast," Dawn told Ash with a frown while preparing her own breakfast along with hers and Ash's pokemon.

Ash sat there in shock he couldn't believe that an accident turned into something so serious, he listened to the surrounding pokemon waking up and the crisp morning breeze sweeping across the land, "Dawn you know I am a bad cook," Ash replied after taking in what Dawn said after a few minutes.

"Well you should have thought about that when you decided to be a pervert," Dawn replied with a frown.

"How do I prove it was an accident?" Ash asked his seething girlfriend.

Dawn ignored the question and continued to cook away for herself and the pokemon, she finished her breakfast not giving Ash. Dawn turned around not looking at Ash while eating her breakfast, Ash got up and walked away to find his breakfast, "Dawn I am sorry, I didn't know you were getting cleaned up," Ash said solemnly before walking away to get his breakfast.

Dawn put her knife and fork down now thinking that she got angry at Ash who was trying to plead his innocence, "I think I made a mistake," Dawn told herself while looking at her plate of pancakes, she thought for a moment and looked at the pile of firewood that Ash had gathered and the berries on the table in front of her, "I guess I got so angry that I didn't want to listen to Ash," Dawn reminded herself while thinking about her reaction, 'I think I overreacted,' Dawn thought while putting her plate down feeling guilty about what she had done

Meanwhile Ash walked around the fields thinking about what had happened, he was feeling a little uneasy about walking back to camp, he was holding an apple in his right hand not watching where he was going. The trainers thoughts drifted to how angry Dawn was, but still feeling like it was an accident, "the way she was this morning, I am not sure if she will forgive me," Ash whispered to himself, before a small green pokemon with two white tusks from either side of its mouth jumped up at him getting ready to slash down on him. Ash jumped back avoiding the attack, he tried to grab for a pokeball but soon realised he left his pokemon back at the camp, the small pokemon charged towards Ash again ready to slash down at him, "that's Dragon Claw," Ash whispered before taking the hit from the small pokemon.

'That's right, that pokemon is an Axew,' A mysterious voice rung in the trainers head.

Ash fell to the ground before placing his hand on his head, "what the hell was that?" Ash asked himself, he looked up to see Axew growling at him, he moved his hand around to try and pick himself up, he looked over his shoulder to see a pile of smashed up fruit, he looked back towards the angry pokemon and realised that he had destroyed its breakfast.

'You must have stepped on its favourite breakfast,' the voice echoed in the trainers mind.

"Who are you?" Ash asked while looking around to find the origin of the voice.

'I am Reshiram, the pokemon that you carry with you in your backpack,' the voice replied to Ash.

Ash looked towards his backpack and smiled, he tried to approach the angry pokemon, but the small tusk pokemon glared at him forcing him back, "so what do I do?" Ash asked himself and Reshiram.

'Why not try and replace its breakfast?' Reshiram suggested in reply.

Ash turned around to try and see what he could replace; he pulled out an apple from his bag and presented it to the small pokemon, "how about an apple?" Ash asked the small pokemon, the small pokemon stared at the apple wondering what to do; "come on Axew, this apple is really good," Ash assured the tusk pokemon.

The small dragon grabbed the apple and started to eat it happily, Ash watched the small dragon eat the apple before looking up at him again, Axew glared at the trainer with its claws glowing leaving Ash nervous, 'I think it wants more apples,' the legendary pokemon said with assurance.

Ash walked off to find some more fruit, Ash looked around the fields to try and find an apple tree, walking towards a tree filled with red apples, Ash grabbed a few apples and started to walk back towards the small pokemon, "maybe I should capture that pokemon," Ash told himself, while walking back to the waiting pokemon. After making it back to the tusk pokemon, he spotted the dragon sitting on the ground waiting for him he approached it and sat down next to the dragon, the trainer handed the apples to it and watched it eat the fruit, "so let's see what the pokedex says about you," Ash stated while pulling out the device from his pocket, he listened to the information about the small green pokemon, "a dragon type ha?" Ash enquired before being given an apple by the dragon type pokemon.

Meanwhile back at camp Dawn was sitting waiting for Ash to return, she was starting to get worried about the length of time he was gone, "he has been gone for too long," Dawn said with still feeling unsure about her actions earlier in the morning, she recalled her pokemon and looked over to Ash's pokemon, "he forgot Pikachu, Zoroark, Lucario and Garchomp," Dawn reminded herself, she walked over to the sleeping back to see Ash's pokeballs, she recalled three of Ash's pokemon and packed the camping gear up and set forth in finding Ash.

She looked back and thought of her actions, she walked through the green fields, looking around to see the trees, she continued on until she heard the trainer talking to someone, "so what is your dream Axew?" Ash asked the tusk pokemon.

Dawn watched as the two continued to talk about something, 'he is talking to that pokemon,' Dawn wondered while listening to the conversation.

"So you want to evolve into a Haxorus," Ash stated while smiling at the pokemon, "but you aren't sure about what it means to follow that dream," Ash thought out loud.

Dawn gasped as her boyfriend talked to the pokemon, "how does he know what that pokemon is saying?" Dawn asked herself in amazement, she tried to move closer but fell through the bush landing in font of Ash scaring the tusk pokemon.

Ash turned his attention to Dawn, he looked away again, "Dawn, sorry for running off like that," Ash said quietly.

Dawn got to her feet and smiled at the trainer, "you don't have to apologise Ash, it should be me that has to say sorry for overreacting the way I did," Dawn replied with guilt written over her face, "I jumped to conclusions Ash, I thought you went out of your way to that a peek while I was getting cleaned up," Dawn explained while looked at the corner of her eye towards the ground sighing heavily.

Ash got up and laughed at himself for what had happened, "oh come on today has been one accident after another, I even trod on this little guy's breakfast," Ash professed with a chuckle, he pointed towards the dragon type pokemon.

'There is more than one way to earn a pokemon's trust, other than battling it,' Reshiram told Ash calmly.

Ash pulled out a pokeball and knelt down towards the green pokemon, "would you like to fulfil that dream of yours?" Ash asked with a smile, he presented the pokeball to Axew and waited for a reply, "Plus, Dawn can make all the great pokemon food that I gave you a moment ago," Ash promised the tusk pokemon.

Axew tapped the pokeball and entered the capturing device, Dawn watched on witnessing the capture of the newest member of Ash team of pokemon, "so Ash, what will we do now?" Dawn asked her boyfriend calmly.

"Now that you're more composed, I think we will head to the next city," Ash retorted with a smile while walking passed the shrubs towards the road, Dawn followed the trainer and look around to see a group of pokemon running around, "well let's get a move on, I want to train my new Axew as soon as possible," Ash declared feeling a little better than before

Dawn turned her gaze to Piplup and smiled at him she ran towards Ash and grabbed his arm, "next time I will be more careful as well," Dawn promised. The two walked through the tree lined route, seeing the pokemon jumping from tree to tree and the flying pokemon overhead, "this part of the region is great," Dawn happily stated while looking around to see the river flowing towards the sea and the bridges to help the people cross, dear like pokemon running around playing in the grass.

The two companions stopped for a moment to take a quick break, sitting in the grass and to hear the serene sounds of the pokemon in the area, the cool wind sweeping across the fields causing the trees to sway gently from side to side. The two looked up to see the clouds moving across the blue sky, thinking about what they wanted to do after their journey, "hey Dawn you want to visit that region right?" Ash asked with a smile, Dawn nodded happily to Ash's question, "then after this region we will head straight there," Ash promised with joy.

"Good, now we have that set, we should be thinking about one think once I reach eighteen," Dawn retorted with a playful smile.

"Let me guess, you want to get married on your birthday?" Ash asked with a snigger.

Dawn nodded with approval and grabbed her loves hand, "that would be great Ash," Dawn giggled while holding the trainer hand and grasping it with all her might, "I can picture it now, thirteen months from now on my birthday, in an elegant white dress," Dawn clasped her hands together picturing the special say with Ash.

Ash sighed and looked to the ground away from his daydreaming girlfriend, he laughed for a moment while Dawn continued to explain the plan to him, with Pikachu watching on, "you seem to have had it all figured out," Ash admitted while thinking about the day Dawn was planning, "ring bearer Pikachu and following along Lopunny," Ash laughed while Dawn nodded happily at the idea getting more excited with the idea.

Dawn's smile soon turned to a little shame realising that there was one dilemma that she had to face, she remembered the arguments at the Pokemon World Tournament, the moment May and Hilda declared their intentions to being her brides maid, "then there is this problem Ash, May and Hilda want to be my brides maid," Dawn acknowledged before bursting out into laughter.

"Well that makes two of us Dawn, I have to wonder who would be my groom's man," Ash professed with slight shame at what was going through his mind, "I have so many friends that I no longer know what to do, maybe I should have Gary, Brock and Paul as my groom's men," Ash joked before Dawn yelled out with glee in the idea, "Dawn?" Ash wondered what was going on.

"That's a great idea Ash, I should let them know that May, Rosa, Hilda and Misty can be my bride's maids," Dawn replied with a cheeky grin at the idea.

Ash shook his head and shrugged his shoulder, "Dawn, you do know I was joking about what I said about having three groom's men," Ash replied but Dawn remained uninterested in the joke, "oh man now she is on some sort of tangent about our wedding, why did a say something?" Ash complained while trying to listen to the fast talking bluenette. Ash placed his hand over Dawn's mouth to stop her from talking, "you know we still have a long time to go," Ash commented while moving his hand away from Dawn.

Dawn got up to see the pokemon walking all over the place, "you know Ash, maybe I haven't forgiven you entirely about this morning," Dawn remarked with a cheeky grin.

Ash sighed while getting to his feet and started walking towards the end of the road, the couple noticed a cave entrance that would lead into their next destination, "well it seems like we need to walk through this cave to the next city," Ash commented with a frown.

Dawn walked into the cave to see massive stones floating in the air, "have a look at this, Ash!" Dawn called over to her love.

Ash ran into the cave to see blue stones hovering over the ground, seeing the massive stones they began to wonder how they were going to pass through this cave. The couple walked to the massive stone in front of them and pushed it, much to their surprise the stone moved pretty easily, "what was that about?" Ash asked in a perplexed manner.

"Well those stones are drawn by magnetism," A female voice explained, she walked from around the corner, the two trainers looked at the young woman with short blonde hair wearing green shin high pants and beret, orange jacket over a white blouse and red frame glasses, "oh high you two, you made it here pretty quickly," she said with a carefree smile.

"Who are you again?" Ash asked quietly.

The woman pointed to herself upset that Ash didn't know who she was, "you two forgot who I am, you two were present when I gave Hugh his starter pokemon," she stated with an innocent grin, the couple looked at one another and shook their heads, "I am Bianca, Hilda's friend," the woman known as Bianca introduced herself to Ash and Dawn before walking ahead.

"Oh that's right, you were beaten by Hilda at the World Tournament," Dawn remembered quickly.

Bianca looked back at Ash and Dawn with an embarrassed expression, "hey don't say that," Bianca instructed the coordinator. Ash and Dawn walked through the cave, spotting gear like pokemon floating all over the place, small brow pokemon popping out of the ground and, "those pokemon are Kilink and Drilbur," Bianca introduced the pokemon native to the cave.

"So Bianca, what is this place called?" Ash asked the blonde trainer curiously.

Bianca looked back and smiled, "well this place is called Chargestone Cave, it leads to Mistralton City," Bianca replied with certainty.

Suddenly a tiny white pokemon flew passed the coordinator causing her to jump back slightly, "what the heck was that?" Dawn asked in panic.

"Oh that little pokemon, this one is called Tynamo," Bianca retorted enegetically.

"So Bianca, why are you here?" Ash asked calmly.

Bianca turned around to look at her new friends, "well, I am here to assist with Professor Juniper's work, she sent me here a yesterday to help with some research," Bianca explained while letting out a sigh, she shrugged her shoulders and sighed again, "I was meant to have some time off as well," Bianca complained as more pokemon moved around the cave.

Ash and Dawn continued to follow the professor's assistant until they came across a much larger brown pokemon with steel claws and hood, Ash grabbed his pokedex and scanned the pokemon, the pokemon jumped out of the ground and glared at Dawn for no reason, "this one seems to be challenging you Dawn," Ash commented while the pokemon growled at her.

"Excadrill, this pokemon seems to be searching for a worthy opponent," Bianca decreed with certainty.

Dawn stood front and center with her pokeball in hand and her Piplup standing next to her, "well if it's a battle it wants, then I will oblige," Dawn accepted the challenge and got ready to call out her first pokemon to battle, "Vanilite, spotlight," Dawn called out with supreme confident.

Bianca gasped at the choice of pokemon that Dawn had made, "Excadrill is part Steel apart from being a ground type," Bianca told Dawn with great concern.

The Subterrene pokemon's eyes glimmered and charged towards the ice type pokemon with its steel claws ready to slash down on the fresh snow pokemon, Dawn panicked slightly before regaining her composure, her pokemon barely dodged the attack, "alright Vanilite attack with Icy Wind," Dawn instructed her pokemon with certainty. The ice type exhaled an icy breath towards the ground type, but the ground type was too quick. "Amazing, Excadrill is fast," Dawn acknowledged while trying to find the opposing pokemon, 'this pokemon really doesn't suit my style, I am more into cute pokemon,' Dawn thought to herself as the ground type charged towards the ice type pokemon.

Ash quickly became frustrated with the turn of events, "Dawn use Piplup," Ash commanded his girlfriend with his fists clenched tightly. Ash looked at the ground type pokemon getting ready to face Dawn's next pokemon, the trainer watched as Dawn followed his instructions, "this pokemon is great, but I wonder if Dawn can use it in contests," Ash thought out loud while Dawn called out her Piplup.

"Alright Piplup, start things off with Ice Beam," Dawn commanded her pokemon, the penguin pokemon opened his beak and formed a ball of ice, he then lowered his head and fired the icy beam at the ground type pokemon dealing significant damage to it, the ground type fell back with ice forming on its claws and feet, "now Piplup finish it off with Hydro Pump," Dawn gave out another command.

Ash watched as a pool of water formed in front of the penguin pokemon, a powerful torrent of water rushed towards the opposing pokemon, the powerful torrent smashed into the steel type knocking it out of the battle, Dawn prepared her pokeball and threw it at the injured ground type pokemon, "come on," Ash cheered as the pokeball started to wobble from side to side.

Dawn continued to watch and wait as the pokeball continued to swing from side to side, "come on stay inside the pokeball," Dawn continued to hope, her pokeball stopped and signified the capture much to Dawn's delight, she ran up to the pokeball and grabbed it with joy, "yes I just captured an Excadrill," Dawn celebrated happily.

After he successful capture Ash approached Dawn to congratulate her on her capture, "well Dawn, we need to get to the next city soon," Ash commented while looking over to the next stone, the couple walked ahead leaving Bianca behind, but she ran up to them, "Bianca? Why do you want to follow us?" Ash asked the blonde assistant of the professor.

"Well I need to meet up with Professor Juniper's father so that means I need to get to the next city," Bianca replied happily, she jumped in front of the duo pushing the next stone away with ease, she walked ahead happily before turning around to see Ash and Dawn lagging behind, "hurry up you two, you shouldn't stay too far behind!" Bianca yelled out.

Ash and Dawn turned their gaze to one another and nodded with a grin, "well we better follow her," Ash submitted.

"Yes we better," Dawn replied nervously.

The couple walked ahead with their pokemon walking in front of them, "so Dawn, I was thinking about something," Ash commented with a more serious expression, he looked at his newly caught pokemon and wondered about something, "I don't want to battle the gym leader until I train this little guy up," Ash proclaimed quietly, he thought about the time he was talking to Reshiram about Axew and its dream to evolve to the final stage, "there is something else Dawn," Ash stated with gulping, nervous as to what he was about to say.

Dawn looked over to Ash and smiled at him, "what is it Ash?"

"While I was talking to Axew, I was able to listen to another voice, the voice of a powerful pokemon," Ash retorted apprehensively, he turned his attention to his backpack and thought about the conversation with the legendary pokemon.

"You were hearing something Ash?" Dawn enquired with a concerned expression, she placed her hand over the trainers head and nodded, "well you don't seem to have a fever Ash," Dawn commented with concern.

"Dawn, I am being serious, it was…" Ash stopped before saying what it was, 'should I tell her?' Ash questioned himself, he was stopped in his tracks by Dawn who had a concerned expression on her face, "oh come on Dawn, don't look at me like that," Ash pleaded with the bluenette.

"Not until you tell me what's going on," Dawn demanded knowing that Ash was now hiding something.

"Alright, I heard the voice of Reshiram, the very same pokemon whose powers are dormant in Light Stone I carry with me," Ash confessed anxiously, he looked back over his shoulder to have a look at his bag containing the legendary pokemon, "the question is, why is it talking to me?" Ash asked his girlfriend ina worried manner.

Dawn looked over to the exit of the cave and thought about what Ash was saying, "I have no idea Ash, maybe this something you need to find out on your own," Dawn explained with a cheeky grin, "much like that secluded lake earlier today," Dawn teased Ash with laughter.

"Oh so I should find my answer by accident," Ash returned with sarcasm, while grinning at his love.

Dawn laughed at Ash before walking to the exit of the cave, "I know Ash and I am still sorry for jumping to conclusions," Dawn remarked assuring Ash that it wasn't his fault that he accidently found Dawn bathing in the lake earlier in the day, "come on Ash, we need to get that new pokemon of yours trained up," Dawn decreed joyfully.

Ash watched as Dawn exited the cave thinking about his accidents, thinking about the newly acquired member of his team, "but why is Reshiram Talking to me?" Ash asked himself while moving slowly towards the exit. Before he could Exit Dawn grabbed his hand and dragged him out, "Dawn you're going to rip my shoulder out of its socket," Ash complained while shaking the feeling back into his arm, "why did you drag me out like that?" Ash asked before turning his gaze to a burning city, his expression soon changed from a smile to an expression of shock then to anger, "what happened?" Ash asked while finding Bianca a few feet ahead of the couple trying to find the professor's father.

"Ash, something doesn't seem right, this was done at least a day before we got here," Dawn pointed out while walking towards their new friend, they looked up to see the medical facility still standing but the people that would frequent to facility were not present, "something just doesn't feel right," Dawn stated with even more concern.

Ash looked to the ground to see a pin on the ground, he knelt down to pick it up, he turned it around to discover that it was a Team Plasma insignia, "Team Plasma were here," Ash replied solemnly before standing back up. The trainer looked around to see the buildings smouldering from what seemed like a sudden attack. "It's really quiet," Ash commented before walking up ahead to scan more of the city.

Dawn followed Ash to find that some of the buildings had been destroyed in the sudden attack, "Bianca, you check out the Pokemon Center, Ash and I will check to see if there is anyone that can help us," Dawn dictated while remaining calm, the two ran up ahead to see if there were any buildings that weren't destroyed in the attack, "Ash, over there," Dawn pointed over to a large hanger at the end of a run way

The couple ran towards the hanger to see if there was anyone inside, Ash entered the building which looked like it was going to collapse at any moment, "Dawn, stay here for a moment," Ash instructed his girlfriend before walking further into the building. Ash looked around to see a woman with magenta hair wearing a blue jumper, gloves, shorts and boots laying on the floor, unconscious from an attack, "hey get up this place is about to collapse," Ash said while trying to wake her up.

She started to stir before waking up, "H-Hilbert?" she muttered quietly before falling back to unconsciousness.

"She must be a friend of Hilbert," Ash told himself before hearing a loud rumble above him, Ash winced for a moment knowing that Dawn wasn't going to be happy with him, 'I have no choice,' Ash thought to himself before picking woman up and running towards the exit of the hanger, the trainer made it to the exit with the building falling into a heap behind him, Ash put the woman on to the ground before turning around to see Dawn approaching him.

"Who is she?" Dawn asked quietly.

Ash turned his attention to Dawn and shrugged his shoulders, "don't know, but all I do know is that she knows Hilbert."

"We better get her to the Pokemon Center," Dawn stated quietly.

Ash nodded and picked up the woman again, the duo walked to the medical facility while Ash was carrying the woman, after entering the facility Ash placed her on a couch so she could rest, Ash looked over to the main desk to see Bianca talking to Nurse Joy, she turned around to see Ash and Dawn had arrived, "so did you find anyone?" Bianca asked with concern. Ash pointed towards the woman much to the blonde's surprise, "that's Skyla, the gym leader of Mistralton City," Bianca said with shock.

"She was unconscious in the hanger, which I take is the gym building, I saved her before it collapsed," Ash stated quietly.

"That's great news," Bianca said with a smile.

* * *

**Hope you liked this chapter, a bit of humour at the start, but a more serious tone at the end, Team Plasma making an attack on a city but for what reason?**

**Next time chapter 18: The High Flying Battle.**


	18. The High Flying Battle

**Chapter 18: The High Flying Battle.**

_Alright some of you have requested that Ash gets his revenge, that will happen, and it should be humourous._

_Skyla: 18_

* * *

Ash and Dawn sat at the table talking about the training that the two had earlier in the day, thinking about the gym leader who was still unconscious from her ordeal at her gym, "Dawn, I see that Vanilite had great potential," Ash commented while the coordinator scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, 'I will get my payback for a few days ago,' Ash thought while remembering what happened between him and her, Ash turned his attention to the couch where the gym leader was still resting, "Dawn we don't have the time to babysit the gym leader," Ash commented while thinking about what Team Plasma has done.

Dawn looked at the floor thinking about the devastation of the city, "yes but we said that we would keep an eye on here," Dawn said with a frown, Dawn looked over to Skyla she was starting to feel a little dejected by her presence, 'I am surprised that Ash is resisting her,' Dawn thought with a gulp, 'I mean compared to me she is really attractive,' Dawn sighed while looking away.

"Hey Dawn, what's the matter?" Ash asked with a smile.

Dawn looked up with concern, "nothing Ash, I was just thinking that's all," Dawn replied hiding her thoughts from Ash, but Dawn knew that hiding her thoughts from Ash would be difficult.

"Hey Dawn, do you mind if I borrow you Vanilite, I want to teach it Ice Beam," Ash said with a smile, Dawn handed the trainer her pokeball containing the ice type pokemon, the trainer got up and walked towards the main entrance of the facility, "you have nothing to worry about Dawn, I love you no questions asked," Ash said with a smile before leaving the facility.

Dawn sat on the seat speechless from Ash's comment, she looked out the window to see that Ash was walking towards the road with her pokeball, "I shouldn't doubt Ash, but what I did was horrible, I feel guilty for even hurting Ash in that way, I don't think he has totally forgiven me," Dawn said while remembering her actions from three days ago, she looked at her hands still reeling from what she had done, 'I hurt Ash, I don't know if I deserve him or not,' Dawn thought while placing her arms on the lap, still thinking of the emotional hurt and physical hurt she put on the one she love, "I will never hurt Ash again, even in anger," Dawn promised herself.

Meanwhile Ash was outside with Dawn's Vanilite, "alright there is something I want you to do, I will request to have another battle with Dawn, when she calls you out I want you to use Icy Wind on her, just not too much that it gives her a cold," Ash instructed the fresh snow pokemon, Ash burst out into laughter after imagining Dawn with her hair frozen, he knew it wasn't nice to do, but it was something that he wanted to do, he looked up to the sky and thought about Dawn, he knew he was going to get her upset, 'I just need to teach her a lesson,' Ash thought before turning towards the ice type pokemon.

'Ash, are you sure that this is the right thing to do? She has been beating herself up after her actions,' Reshiram enquired with a concerned tone.

"Reshiram, I just want to teach her a lesson, that's all," Ash replied with a chuckle.

'I don't think that it's the right thing to do, I know you were hurt by what she did, but two wrongs don't make a right Ash,' Reshiram berated the trainer but knew that Ash was too focused on repaying Dawn, 'why do I even bother?' Reshiram asked itself with slight frustration.

"Alright Vanilite I need you to concerntrate that Icy Wind and try your best to turn it into a beam of Ice," Ash instructed the ice cream like pokemon. The ice type unleased a powerful wind but it still didn't concentrate to make it more powerful. Ash and Vanilite continued for a couple more hours until the two got exhausted from the training. "Alright time to head back to Dawn," Ash commented while returning the pokemon and walked over to the Pokemon Centre.

After walking in he spotted Dawn with a plate of pancakes, "here Ash, I made some pancakes for you to make up for a few days ago," Dawn said with a warm smile, Ash walked up to the plate and grabbed the fork, "there is no need to thank me Ash, I just want you to know that I will never hurt you again," Dawn promised while Ash handed Dawn the pokeball containing her pokemon.

'Yeah I know, but I am still going to enjoy our next battle,' Ash thought with a cheeky grin before he started to eat the pancakes Dawn had given him, 'I can taste strawberries in these pancakes,' Ash wondered while letting out a smile, "you put strawberries in these pancakes," Ash acknowledged quietly, Dawn nodded while watching her boyfriend eating the meal.

After eating the pancakes Dawn took the plate and walked off to clean the dish, "Ash, how about a quick battle?" Dawn asked with a smile.

"Thought you'd never ask, you should use Vanilite, I will use Axew, both of them need training," Ash commented with a cheeky smile, holding back his laughter long enough to get outside and wait for Dawn, Pikachu watched what was going on and grew concerned about Ash's way of thinking, "Come on Dawn, we don't have all day!" Ash yelled out to hurry Dawn up with Axew waiting for the battle eagerly.

Dawn walked out of the medical facility to greet Ash, she smiled at her boyfriend and pulled out her pokeball, "Vanilite spotlight," Dawn called out her pokemon, the fresh snow pokemon turned around and affectionately gave Dawn an Icy Wind attack, after the attack cleared up Dawn's hair was sticking out on end almost frozen solid, "come on Vanilite that wasn't needed," Dawn commented before hearing Ash burst out into laughter, "that's not funny Ash," Dawn complained while glaring at the trainer who was about to fall over during his fit of laughter.

"You're right Dawn, it isn't funny," Ash said while clearing out his tears of laughter, "it's pretty darn hilarious," Ash finished before continuing his fit of laughter, Ash looked over to Dawn who was starting to get really upset, "what did they call you in school again, Diamond Dandruff wasn't it?" Ash asked the bluenette while laughing at her misfortune.

Dawn looked to the ground starting to get really upset, "Ash there is no need to be so mean to me," Dawn commented with tears in her eyes. Ash walked up to her and smiled for a moment, "what are you doing Ash?" Dawn questioned before being hugged by the trainer.

Ash moved towards Dawn's left ear, "now we're even," Ash whispered with a chuckle.

Dawn smiled for a moment and returned the embrace, "so all of this was to get back at me for a few days ago," Dawn commented while still feeling a little upset about Ash's actions.

"That's right D.D," Ash replied with a smile.

Dawn got a little angry but still she resisted raising her hand at Ash, instead Dawn embraced Ash tearfully, "I promise Ash, never to hurt you again, not even in anger," Dawn promised Ash while Ash avoided her spiky hair. Dawn started sneeezig after the attack, she pulled back and sneezed some more, "oh great now after Vanilite's Icy Wind attack, I catch a cold," Dawn complained.

Ash looked towards the Pokemon Center and recalled his dragon type pokemon and escorted his girlfriend to the medical facility, "seems like it went too far," Ash replied with a chuckle, after leading Dawn into the Pokemon Center he grabbed a blanket and placed Dawn in front of the fire place, "you stay here I will get something for you," Ash instructed the bluenette who had was sneezing some more.

Dawn watched the fire as her hair started to thaw out, she smiled at herself thinking that Ash had gotten his pay back on her for her actions, "well I did deserve it after what I did to him," Dawn reminded herself while picturing herself slapping Ash for what happened, then Ash's payback on her, 'well at least he doesn't hold it against me,' Dawn though to herself while placing her arms around her legs.

Ash approached her and gave her a bowl of soup, "here this should make you feel better Dawn," Ash commented happily, he sat down next to Dawn allowing her to have her soup, "I am not that bad at cooking, but I am still pretty shit at it," Ash chuckled for a moment, it had been sometime before Dawn had finished her soup, "I hope you get better soon, wouldn't want you to miss out on my gym battle," Ash commented while moving his arm around Dawn.

"Thank you Ash, you're too kind, especially to someone who over reacted to something that was just an accident," Dawn replied while resting her head on Ash's shoulder, Dawn placed the bowl next to her and started to fall asleep while staying close to Ash, "I said this before, I am sorry for hurting you Ash," Dawn apologized again.

"Hey don't apologize, anymore,' Ash retorted quietly, he watched as Dawn fell asleep with her head on his shoulder. Ash moved slightly and picked Dawn up he carried her to the hall way, "don't dwell on it Dawn," Ash stated before struggling to open the door to Dawn's room, he walked in and moved slowly towards the bed, he gently placed Dawn onto her bed and placed the blankets over her to prevent her from freezing, "good night my angel," Ash sweetly instructed his love before walking out of the room to allow Dawn to sleep.

After walking into the empty main foyer Ash walked over to the fire and stood on the spot thinking about his actions, "Hilbert!" a female voice yelled out before embracing Ash, "I missed you so much," the woman with short magenta hair declared while snuggling into him.

Ash pushed the woman back and shook his head, "my name is not Hilbert," Ash replied much to the disappointment of the woman.

"Quit playing games Hilbert," Skyla teased while grabbing onto the trainer's arm.

Ash got his arm back and glared seriously into Skyla's blue eyes, "I told you I am not Hilbert, he was in Driftveil about a week ago, with his girlfriend Hilda," Ash explained to the red haired woman who tilted her head to the left in a puzzled manner, "my name is Ash Ketchum, the difference between Hilbert and me," Ash started before taking his hat off, "my damn hair is black!" Ash yelled out while pointing to his spiky hair.

"Why did you recolor your hair Hilbert?" Skyla cried out, Ash placed his hat back on his head and sighed with disappointment.

Ash shook his head and shrugged his shoulder in disbelief, "oh man you really are stupid, this is worse than explaining the accident to Dawn," Ash complained while the woman tried to get a closer inspection of Ash, "hey what are you doing?" Ash asked the gym leader who started to tilt her head in the other direction.

"Prove that you are not Hilbert, or I might find out for myself," Skyla demanded while winking at the trainer.

Ash facepalmed himself in shock, he grabbed his pokeballs and called out his pokemon one by one, "you see I don't think Hilbert would even have a Lucario and a Garchomp, let alone a Zoroark," Ash told the woman while his electric mouse approached him to introduce himself to the gym leader, "even this little guy is from another region, then I also have an Axew, something that I doubt Hilbert would have," Ash continued to explain while the high flying girl nodded.

"I don't believe you," Skyla decreed leaving the trainer in shock, "I know full well that you went to other regions Hilbert," Skyla ended with a cheeky grin.

"I am from the Kanto region, my name is Ash Ketchum and I already have a girlfriend, also if you must know here is a photo of Hilbert with his girlfriend Hilda," Ash explained while showing the gym leader the photo of Hilbert and Hilda, "this might have been taken a couple of years ago, but I was able to meet a person by the name of Alder who showed me where I could get the Light Stone which Hilbert…."Ash started before being interrupted by Skyla.

"Had hidden in Castelia City," Skyla finished with a frown.

Ash took the photo back and placed it in his pocket, 'finally she gets it,' Ash thought to himself, Ash breathed a sigh of relief and started to head to the room, "well I am getting a little tired, explaining that I am not Hilbert was so tiring," Ash professed while walking back to the room, leaving Skyla to ponder what to do next.

Ash walked to his room and heard Dawn talking to her Piplup, "I still can't believe Ash had a hard time explaining that he wasn't Hilbert," Dawn laughed, Ash placed his ear next to the door and listened to more of Dawn's conversation, "I made a mistake, I guess I am not as perfect as he thinks I am," Dawn stated while Ash smiled at himself.

Ash sat on the ground and listened to Dawn's discussion with her pokemon, "I never fell in love with you because you were perfect Dawn, there are other reasons why I initially fell in love with you," Ash whispered to himself. Ash picked himself up and walked to his room thinking about what Dawn was saying, "to be honest Dawn, I am not perfect either," Ash reminded himself while opening the door to his room.

Dawn walked out of her room towards Ash's room, she hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door, Ash opened the door to greet Dawn, "hey Dawn, what's the matter?" Ash asked with a grin.

"Nothing, I just want to talk to you about something," Dawn replied as she entered the room, she grabbed a chair and sat down while Ash sat in front of her, "Ash I was talking to Piplup," Dawn stated while about something.

"Yeah I heard, I was walking passed your room when I heard you talking to him," Ash stated with a smile, "I know you aren't perfect Dawn, but in reality neither am I," Ash pointed out with a gentle smile, Dawn listened with shock, hearing that Ash wasn't perfect was the thing that hit her the hardest, she had always thought Ash was perfect in her eyes, Ash lifted Dawn's chin up and looked into her eyes, "hey, just because I am not perfect it doesn't mean that I am any less of a person," Ash stated while trying to cheer Dawn up.

"Yes but, I just wanted to ask you a question, what was the reason you fell in love with me?" Dawn asked nervously.

"Well it wasn't for a shallow reason like perfection," Ash replied with a smile, he grabbed Dawn's hand and looked into her eyes, "because you are determined to follow your dreams, I love how you don't take no for an answer," Ash continued to explain with a smile, "you inspire me Dawn, your outgoing personality," Ash tried to continue but was having a hard time trying to continue because he was starting to become nervous about his response, "you have the most beautiful smile Dawn, I would hate to see you lose that smile," Ash commented while Dawn grasped his hand, "I don't want you to be perfect, I just want you to be yourself," Ash professed leaving Dawn in shock, she started to cry after hearing those words from Ash, she tightened her grip on the trainer's hand and smiled at him, she struggled to say something to Ash, she got up and ran to the door.

"Thank you Ash, you know what to say and when to say it," Dawn commented while opening the door, she walked out of the room, 'he doesn't think I am perfect, he thinks of me as more than that, as a person, I never knew,' Dawn thought before turning around to see Ash smiling at her, "I always thought of you as the one that would help me make my dreams come true," Dawn told Ash before exiting the room, she looked back again and smiled at her boyfriend, "the one who would always make me happy, please keep it up Ash," Dawn requested before shutting the door to Ash's room.

Ash sat there with a proud expression and looked out through the window, "I will do anything for you Dawn," Ash whispered to himself while thinking about the events of the previous few days. Ash slowly fell asleep not noticing that Dawn still had the door partway open she watched as Ash went to sleep, "I know you're there Dawn," Ash said cheekily.

Dawn happily watched Ash going to sleep thinking about what Ash had told her, she held back a sneeze not wanting to wake Ash from his slumber, "I think I learnt more about you Ash, a little while ago, I didn't know a lot about you," Dawn told herself while quietly closing the door, she turned around to start walking to her room, ,she stopped midway and looked over her shoulder, "I learned that you really are someone important to me, never did I think you had such a high opinion of me," Dawn stated before a feeling of regret coursed through her mind, she started to walk back to her room, she opened the door, she started to walk into her room before hearing the cries of a person in the main foyer. Dawn walked into the main foyer to spot Skyla crying in front of the fire, "hey what's the matter?" Dawn asked the gym leader.

"I really wanted to be with Hilbert, but it turns out he is going out with Hilda," Skyla cried while thinking about her crush.

"So why did you confuse my Ash for Hilbert?" Dawn asked while walking up to the high flying girl.

Hilda looked into the fire and tried to think about an answer, "because he looks like Hilbert, I thought he dyed his hair to surprise me," Skyla retorted with sadness, she spotted the bluenette walking up to her, "you know you're one lucky girl," Skyla told Dawn with a smile.

"How so Skyla?" Dawn questioned the older teen.

Skyla took a seat and smiled fondly, she turned her gaze to the coordinator, "because he wouldn't take any of my advances, he really must love you," Skyla acknowledged with pride.

"I have a question for you, why do you love Hilbert?" Dawn asked the gym leader with a smirk.

Skyla's face started to turn red before thinking of an answer, "well he is cool, handsome and strong," Skyla replied with a playful grin.

'Great that's the opposite of me,' Dawn thought to herself in disappointment, "Skyla there has to be something else, more than just being cool, or handsome or even strong," Dawn commented leaving the gym leader in awe of the bluenette wisdom, "I should know this sort of stuff, I was thinking the same thing before I truly feel in love with Ash," Dawn professed while looking back to the hall, "but just moments ago, I reaffirmed what it meant to love someone, Ash really taught me a lesson," Dawn said with a giggle, she sneezed a little still feeling the effects of Vanilite's Icy Wind, "what I am saying is that there are other guys out there, you just need to know where to look, I was just lucky when it came to Ash," Dawn stated while getting off her seat.

"So I might need to give up on something I have been holding onto for the last three years," Skyla enquired, the gym leader gulp and thought about what was happening, Dawn even though she had only known her for a few minutes was able to teach her something new, she looked out the window and thought about the time she met Hilbert, "Dawn, right? I guess you're right,"Skyla submitted with a smile she watched as Dawn walked towards the hallway, "it will take time, but thank you Dawn," Skyla thanked Dawn before the blue-haired coordinator stopped and looked over her shoulder.

Dawn nodded before getting ready to tell Skyla something important, "by the way, prepare yourself in less than two weeks Ash will be challenging you to a battle, and I will be cheering him with all my might," Dawn explained the challenge to the Mistralton Gym Leader.

"Is Ash really strong?" Skyla asked the girl.

"Very strong, the other gym leaders haven't even challenged him to a great extent," Dawn replied to Skyla with a smirk, "he wants a challenge from the last three gym leaders," Dawn explained with a smirk.

"But why in less than two weeks?" Skyla asked the coordinator.

Dawn smiled at the gym leader and turned her attention to the hallway, "maybe that's because he wants the gym leader to be ready," Dawn retorted with a smile, she started to walk down the hallway, she stared at the trainer's bedroom door and thought about her love, "I think I know why I love you Ash, you're compassionate, down to earth and you complete me Ash," Dawn whispered to herself, she opened her door and smiled at her pokemon, her heart racing, "from now on Ash, I will follow you to where ever you go, to the ends of the earth if I must," Dawn promised herself, the coordinator walked into her room and closed the door, she jumped into her bed happily knowing that she understood Ash more than she previously did in the past, she grasped her pillow and erased the memory of her mistake and replaced it with a happy new memory of Ash's confession.

_(12 days later)_

"Alright Fraxure, attack with Shadow Claw," Ash called out for the attack of the final training battle with Dawn, the green and grey pokemon with red claws, tail tip and ends of its tusks charged towards the icy snow pokemon with a shadowy claw.

"No you don't Ash, Vanillish, attack with Ice Beam," Dawn instructed her pokemon with great confidence, the blue and white ice cream like pokemon unleashed a powerful beam of ice towards the charging dragon type, the two attacks missed but it seemed on purpose for the two. Ash and Dawn recalled their respective pokemon and nodded at one another, "well Ash, I think you're ready to face Skyla," Dawn told Ash with pride, she raised her hand up along with Ash to give him a high five, "I will be cheering for you Ash," Dawn remarked with a bright smile before going back to the pokemon center to get ready for the battle.

"Thanks Dawn," Ash replied before going their separate ways, Ash looked back and smiled at the girl, "she seems a lot happier lately, her smile seems to radiate more than even," Ash reminded himself while his Pikachu looked at him wondering about what was going on between the two, "you have nothing to worry about, I have learned more about Dawn, and I am certain that she has done the same for me," Ash commented with a relieved smile. Ash started walking to the airfields where Skyla was waiting for Ash to battle her, it was a nice day, cloud free sky and the clear airfield provided the backdrop for the battle for the next gym badge.

Skyla smirked at the trainer who holding her pokeball ready to face Ash, "I want the best from you Ash, Dawn said you're really strong," Skyla confident stated while throwing her first pokeball out, "Swoobat, time to fly," Skyla called out her first pokemon.

"Hey, why didn't you wait for me?" Dawn asked in anger.

"Sorry Dawn, Skyla couldn't wait for the battle to start," Ash replied with a frown, Ash took his pokeball and threw it out, "Garchomp I choose you," Ash called out his mighty dragon type pokemon.

Before the battle could begin Meloetta appeared next to Dawn ready to cheer on the trainer, "it's been a while Meloetta," Dawn looked down at the legendary pokemon positively, Dawn lifted her pompoms up and began to cheer for Ash, "come on Ash, show her your might, give her a battle she will never forget," Dawn cheered while waving around her hands around cheering loudly.

Ash confidently smirked at the gym leader ready to attack the leader's pokemon for the first round, "Garchomp, start things off with Shadow Claw," Ash instructed his pokemon.

"Swoobat dodge the attack then use Air Slash," Skyla commanded with vigour.

Garchomp rushed towards the courting pokemon with a purple claw, the attack was dodged by the psychic type speed, Swoobat sent out blades of air towards the dragon type pokemon hitting it with great intensity, Ash stood there with a smile, "not bad that's the most powerful attack in this region that has hit a single one of my pokemon," Ash complimented the gym leader, his pokemon leapt into the air ready to attack again, "but not good enough, Garchomp attack with Crunch," Ash sent his pokemon to attack with intimidating force.

"Dodge it again Swoobat, then strike back with Heart Stamp," Skyla called for the counter attack, Swoobat charged towards the dragon type pokemon but was quickly overwhelmed by the speed and power of Ash's first pokemon, Skyla watched in horror as the powerful land shark crunched down on the courting pokemon dealing immense damage to, "Swoobat get back up!" Skyla yelled out in shock as her pokemon crashed to the ground after the hit from Ash's powerful pokemon, Swoobat slowly got back up but showed signs of fatigue from the power of the ground type pokemon, 'he is good, his pokemon are well trained,' Skyla thought while her pokemon wearily hovered in the air, "use Future Sight," Skyla commanded her pokemon knowing that it wouldn't last much longer in the battle, the psychic type pokemon's eyes started to glow blue foreseeing an attack from the future.

"Great and I cannot avoid that attack, Garchomp attack with Dragon Claw," Ash commanded with a grin. The dragon type rushed towards the flying type pokemon with glowing claws, the dragon slashed down on the gym leader's pokemon, the final blow landed on the flying type pokemon knocking it out of the battle.

Dawn jumped up with joy happy to see Ash winning the first round of the battle, "that's it Ash, nicely done," Dawn cheered loudly, she watched as the trainer recalled his pokemon from the battle, she watched as the two combatants called out their next pokemon, Skyla called out a black and grey pokemon with a green underbelly and a pink mask covering his face, Ash pointed to the battlefield knowing for his Pikachu to jump into the fray, "you can do it Ash," Dawn cheer continuously.

"Start this round with Aerial Ace," Skyla ordered her pokemon to attack.

Ash knew that there was no chance of his Pikachu dodging the attack, "use Volt Tackle," Ash instructed his pokemon to counter the high flying girl's attack, Pikachu charged towards the flying type with a thunderous aura, running until it was hit by a powerful attack from a distance and by Unfezant at the same time, Ash chuckled at the attack knowing that his Pikachu was able to continue the attack, "not bad Skyla, this is definitely one of the better gym battle's I have had," Ash confessed with a smirk.

After the compliment Skyla started blushing, she watched with amazement as the trainers Pikachu got back to his feet, "Air Slash now," Skyla instructed her pokemon with even more confidence.

"Dodge with Volt Tackle," Ash counted with confidence, Pikachu dodge the air blades coming his way with a powerful aura, he turned around waiting for the chance to attack,"now attack with Thunderbolt," Ash called for the next attack, with the yellow aura Pikachu unleashed a powerful blast of electricity at the flying type.

The powerful blast of electricity smashed into the flying type pokemon dealing great damage to him, "Unfezant!" Skyla called out to her pokemon with great distress, 'amazing, he is amazingly powerful,' Skyla thought with a smile, she recalled her fallen pokemon while Ash recalled his, "wow Dawn is right, you are really strong," the high flying girl complimented the trainer before calling out her final pokemon to battle Ash, "Swanna, it's time to take flight," Skyla called out her final pokemon to battle, the mostly white pokemon spread out its wings getting ready to battle Ash.

Ash picked his next pokeball and threw it out to call his next pokemon, "Zoroark, I choose you."

Dawn and Meloetta cheered loudly again this seeing the mostly black fox like pokemon raring to go in the battle, the final round of the battle against the gym leader, "come on Ash, win this round," Dawn yelled out with a proud smile.

"Hurricane now," Skyla instructed the white bird pokemon flapped its wings releasing a powerful vortex of wind towards Ash's dark type pokemon.

"Zoroark, dodge now, then use Night Daze!" Ash yelled out the attack.

The illusion fox pokemon barely dodged the column of wind, its eyes glowing a bright blue, becoming surrounded by a crimson aura, the powerful aura surrounding the dark type's arms became very ominous, the fox like pokemon slammed it's arms onto the ground, the dark shockwave smashed into the water type pokemon dealing a great amount of damage, "amazing this dark type pokemon is super strong," Skyla told herself while her pokemon fell to the ground, the dark type got ready to unleash another attack, "Swanna, use Brave Bird," Skyla panicked after seeing her pokemon getting beaten by Ash's pokemon.

"Zoroark dodge it hurry, then use Shadow Ball," Ash commanded with great confidence. Zoroark dodged the attack with ease and unleashed a powerful ball of ghostly energy.

Skyla watched in disbelief as her pokemon was hit by a powerful purple ball, her pokemon fell to the ground after taking the hit, "Swanna, you can do it," Skyla called to her pokemon trying to cheer it on in the battle, her pokemon slowly got back up but soon collapsed from the two powerful hits that it received from the dark type pokemon, "amazing, you have great skill, but the next two gym leaders are way stronger than I am," Skyla stated while recalling her pokemon, she walked up to Ash with her badge in hand.

"I have to say, out of the six Gym Leaders I face so far, you were the best one yet," Ash complimented the gym leader causing her face to turn red, Ash took the badge and looked over to Dawn showing off his new badge.

'Ash, is such a competitive person, strong and compassionate,' Skyla thought while watching the trainer celebrate with Dawn and Meloetta, "what am I thinking?" Skyla asked out lound.

Dawn looked over to the gym leader and smiled at her, 'oh no, she can't be,' Dawn thought with laughter while seeing the gym leader looking away from the celebrating trainer. "Skyla, I know what you're thinking," Dawn commented while walking over to the gym leader.

"Well the next gym leader is in Oplucid City, I will fly you both to the next town which is on the other side of Unova," Skyla told the bluenette before turning her gaze to Ash, 'no I cannot separate these two, Ash and Dawn love each other, it would just be wrong,' Skyla reminded herself while leading the duo to the plane with their pokemon following close behind, she went into the cockpit of the plane and started the engines up.

"Hey Ash, can I tell you something?" Dawn asked her boyfriend with a cheeky grin.

"What is it Dawn?" Ash asked a puzzled look.

"You're one lucky man, I think Skyla has a crush on you," Dawn laughed at her boyfriend, he looked at her in shock unable to say a word at Dawn's comment, he tried to say something but no word could express his shock at the bluenette's revelation, "but I have nothing to worry about, as long as you stay mine, then I will be happy," Dawn grabbed the trainers hand and looked into his eyes while the plane took off from the airport, Ash and Dawn looked out the window to see the city below.

Ash chuckled at Dawn's comment and turned his attention to his girlfriend, "You have nothing to worry about Dawn, I will never be chasing after another woman," Ash promised while looking into Dawn's bright blue eyes.

* * *

**Ash and Dawn will face the next challenge with Team Plasma very soon, as their journey in the Unova region starts to come to an end.**

**Next time Chapter 19: The Flames of Life**

**And yes Skyla know full well that she cannot have Ash, just to clarify that in case anyone is wondering**


	19. The Flames of Life

**Chapter 19: the Flames of Life.**

_No this has nothing to do with Reshiram I am saving that for a little later on._

* * *

Ash and Dawn walked out of the plane after it landed in a small town, they looked around to see the buildings made of wood, a sandstorm billowing from every direction and the feel of the heat pressing down on them, they looked back to see the gym leader walking out of the plane, "Ash, I want a rematch with you later, I will become stronger," Skyla told Ash with a smirk, Ash nodded in approval and started to walk away from the plane, 'you two have taught me so much in the last two weeks,' Skyla thought happily, she watched Ash and Dawn leave the airfield and making their way to the small town.

Ash looked at the sign to see what town it was, "so this is Lentimas Town," Ash said with a calm expression, he covered his face to see the small town, the Pokemon Center nearest to the entrance and a few houses and shops nearby, "not a very large town," Ash commented while looking over his shoulder, "we will see you soon Skyla," Ash told the gym leader with a smile.

"Remember Skyla, be ready for a rematch against your new champion," Dawn told the gym leader with a proud smile. She turned her gaze to Ash and smiled at him sweetly, "and good luck Skyla with you know what," Dawn waved to her new friend.

"Will do Dawn, and thanks both of you, you are true friends," Skyla waved back before climbing onto her plane.

Ash and Dawn watched the engines of Skyla's plane start up and the craft taxying off the tarmac, lifting off taking its flight back to Mistralton City, "I will take that lesson from you Dawn, you're are a really nice person, Ash is lucky to have someone like you," Skyla told herself before returning her focus to the skies in front of her, she wondered what it was like to love someone unconditionally like Ash and Dawn did, 'one day I will find out for myself soon, I will take the lessons you two have shown me, but first I will need to travel around the world while my gym is getting rebuilt,'Skyla thought to herself while her plane flew off into the distance.

After watching the plane leaving their view Ash and Dawn turned around only to be greeted by a powerful sand storm, the couple covered their faces to prevent the sand from hitting their eyes, "oh man this is terrible, we better get to the Pokemon Center," Ash complied with the situation. Ash grabbed Dawn's hand and led her to the medical facility; Ash peered slightly under his arm to see the Pokemon Center was nearby.

Ash and Dawn ran into the Pokemon Center and shook off the sand, "wow, that storm happened all of a sudden," Dawn complained while brushing her clothes, she looked over to Ash and smiled, "I will be getting a room to cleaned up," Dawn told Ash quietly, she walked up to the front counter and received a key to a room, she left Piplup with Ash and entered the hallway that led to her room.

"Alright, we better get some food," Ash told the pokemon before calling them out, before he walked up to the counter Meloetta appeared next to him, he turned around to see the melody pokemon hovering next to him, she looked at the food wondering whether to grab some, "here, there is no need to hesitate," Ash told the pokemon while giving it a berry, the small psychic pokemon grabbed the berry and started to eat it. Ash grabbed a plate and put some food on it, he walked back to the table then headed back to the food stand to grab Dawn's food, "if you're wondering where Dawn is, she is getting cleaned up after the sand storm," Ash stated with a grin.

After getting Dawn's food, he walked back to the table to start eating his food, after a short time Dawn had appeared from the hallway with after her clean up, "man that sand makes so much mess," Dawn laughed, Ash handed her a plate of food much to her delight, "thank you Ash," Dawn replied while taking a seat next to Ash, she started to eat before spotting the mess on Ash's face, "Ash, you need to eat more cleanly," Dawn sighed before cleaning her loves face with a napkin.

Ash pulled back to prevent any embarrassment, "alright Dawn, I get it, my table manners aren't perfect," Ash admitted with a chuckle.

"I guess that's the problem when you live your life on the road," Dawn commented with a giggle, "say Ash, what do you intend to do after we visit the new region?" Dawn enquired with a knowing smirk.

Ash grabbed a bread roll and started to eat it slowly, "I never thought of that, I was thinking of finding another region to travel through," Ash replied with a confident expression.

"No Ash, I mean us, I was thinking that once we complete the new region that we should settle down, get our own home and live happily," Dawn explained nervously. Ash listened to Dawn's words with intent wondering why Dawn was saying these words, she stopped Ash from taking another bite of his food, "I know we have gotten closer in the last few weeks, now I realized that I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Dawn confessed while grasping Ash's hand, she turned her attention to Ash and looked into her auburn eyes, she sighed a little and continued to think about the possibility, "we both know now that nothing will separate us, so how about on my eighteenth we get married?" Dawn requested much to the trainers shock.

"You're joking right?" Ash questioned the bluenette.

"No Ash, I am serious, I want it done as soon as I reach eighteen," the coordinator confirmed with a serious expression, she placed an item in Ash's hand and smiled at him, "I just don't want to wait for too long, I want to start our life together and you know the rest right?" Dawn asked with a proud smile.

"Dawn, I know you want to rush it, but can't we wait? So we can plan it more thoroughly?" Ash questioned the girl with a smile, he looked at the piece of string in his hand tied up in a loop, "Dawn, I know what you want me to do, but isn't your birthday a week away?" Ash eloquently questioned the girl.

"Yes I know Ash, but there is only one thing I want," Dawn started while putting food in her mouth, she quickly swallowed the food and turned her attention to Ash, "no not want, I need," Dawn finished with a wink.

"Dawn, I know what you are talking about, but I still feel that it's too early to start thinking about it," Ash commented with a serious expression, Ash got up and walked to the phone to ring up his mother, "I will be talking to my mother for a moment," Ash dictated with a smile, he placed his hand on her shoulder and moved towards the phone.

After the ringing Ash was greeted by a brown haired woman, "Ash, it's so good to see you my son," Delia told her son with a proud smile, "I was just talking to Professor Oak who said you were doing really well in your journey," Delia told her son with great pride.

"Mom, I have a question to ask you," Ash told his mother sternly.

"I am your mother after all, so I will listen," Delia told her son with a gentle smile.

Ash gulped for a moment before turning to Dawn who was eating her food, "mom, Dawn wants me to marry her the day she reaches eighteen, I am not so sure of it," Ash told his mother.

Delia giggled at her son and thought about what Dawn told her two months before her son returned, "oh come on Ash, Dawn has always been talking about it to me, you're the she is after, no matter what you do, she will always love you," Delia lectured her son with a wink, "I would be proud to have her in my family, just like Johanna would be happy to have you in her family," Delia told her son before a ringing was heard in the background, "oh the cookies are ready, talk to you again soon," Delia told her son before hanging up.

Dawn spotted her boyfriend approaching her and smiled at him, "I guess talking to your mother didn't help either," Dawn chimed with joy.

The two looked out the window to see the sandstorm clearing up, "well we better get going," Ash stated while walking to the exit of the facility, he walked away avoiding the topic that Dawn was presenting to him, only thinking about his adventure through the Unova region, the wind was whipping the sand around but not at the same intensity as it was earlier when they arrived in the small town.

Dawn followed her boyfriend silently wondering what she can do to prove what she said was true, an awkward silence followed the two as it weighed down on their shoulders, Dawn thought about what she was saying to Ash and looked to the ground, still thinking about her idea, "Ash, I don't want to force it onto you," Dawn broke the silence.

Ash turned his focus to Dawn and grinned at her, "I know Dawn, but like I said I still think it's too early to make such plans," Ash complied with a confident smile, he extended out his hand and allowed Dawn to take it, "come on, there is still time for me to think about it," Ash decreed with a soft smile.

Dawn walked alongside Ash while the two pokemon looked back, to see their respective trainer's holding hands, not noticing the house that they were approaching, Dawn looked up to see the shabby looking house, parts of it seemed to be falling away with the dead trees lining the pathway towards the house, "wow Ash, a haunted house," Dawn said with fear, she grasped onto Ash's arm not wanting to get any closer.

But as they were about to turn around a white pokemon with a blue flame passed them, in that moment Ash collapsed to the ground before noticing the flame on the pokemon grow larger, "oh man, as soon as that pokemon passed by I felt like it took something," Ash remarked tiredly, Dawn knelt down next to Ash and watched the pokemon enter the house, "it seems like we need to enter that house," Ash explained much to Dawn's horror.

Dawn helped Ash up and placed his left arm over her shoulder, she struggled to help Ash into the house while the two pokemon followed close behind, "Ash, are you sure it has anything to do with that pokemon?" Dawn enquired while looking around the house to see the torn curtains and the furniture slowly moving around, Dawn assisted Ash to the seat and looked over her shoulder for the pokemon that passed by them earlier, "I will look around for that pokemon," Dawn told her love with calmly.

Dawn walked around the house looking for the exact pokemon, 'now all I have to remember is the large blue flame,' Dawn thought before spotting the pokemon phasing through a wall, "oh great it'sa ghost type pokemon," Dawn complained as she approached the door of the room the mysterious pokemon entered into. Her Piplup got ready to attack the pokemon when Dawn opened the door. She looked around.

Dawn grabbed her pokedex and scanned the pokemon, "Litwick, the candle pokemon, this pokemon pretends to lead people through dark areas but in reality, they suck the life energy of their victim while leading them to the ghost world," Dawn's pokedex recited.

Dawn gasped at the information given to her; she placed her hand over her mouth shocked, now knowing why Ash was suddenly so tired, "a Litwick passed by taking part of Ash's life energy," Dawn reminded herself, thinking back to the moment one of the candle pokemon passed them, "it must have been an accident," Dawn wondered while trying to search for the ghost type pokemon, it was then she noticed a small white pokemon with a slightly larger flame, "Piplup use Drill Peck on that one there," Dawn commanded with determination.

After Dawn gave the command the group of Litwick disappeared leaving the bluenette frustrated at what had happened, she moved further into the room and found nothing was left in the room, "great, I was close to saving Ash," Dawn complained, the coordinator exited the room to find a small girl walking around, 'what was that?' Dawn wondered as she followed the girl.

Dawn followed the girl with black hair wearing an old fashioned white dress, "who are you?" the little girl asked with a blank expression. Dawn looked into the lifeless eyes of the girl and stepped back in fear, "want to be friends?" the girl asked before disappearing.

"Was that a ghost?" Dawn wondered with her right hand on her chin, she made it to a room and opened the door, she walked in to see a lone pokemon with a larger blue flame, "Piplup, use Drill Peck again," Dawn whispered her instruction. The water type charged towards the ghost type pokemon with a spinning beak, hitting the candle like pokemon, "alright you will return to Ash what is rightfully his," Dawn demanded while the pokemon turned around with a smile on its face before moving through a wall, the coordinator ran out of the room and started chasing after the ghost type pokemon who was making its way towards Ash.

The girl appeared in front of Dawn again this time holding a small item in her hand, "want to be friends?" the little girl asked as she approached the coordinator with a smile.

Dawn knelt down and nodded at the little girl, "my name is Dawn, who are you?" Dawn introduced herself while asking the little girl her name.

"I don't know, but now we are friends here is a gift for you," the girl replied while handing over the item to Dawn.

Dawn took the item and grinned at the spirit, "this is the Luna Wing," Dawn said quietly, the girl nodded before disappearing from Dawn's sight, "thank you for such a lovely gift," Dawn gratefully told the girl before resuming her search for the ghost type pokemon, Dawn ran to the staircase to find out where it was heading, "I will save you Ash," Dawn decreed while spotting the pokemon again getting closer to Ash, "I will not let you take Ash from me!" Dawn yelled out in anger which was directed at the candle pokemon, she and her water type pokemon ran towards the pokemon unsure if they could save Ash in time.

Ash got up slowly to see the small candle like pokemon approach him, "Pikachu, use thnunderbolt," Ash instructed his pokemon tiredly, his electric partner unleashed a mighty bolt of electricity on the approaching pokemon. The attack landed dealing significant damage to it.

"Ash, that flame on its head is the life force of a person, this one took some of your life energy," Dawn explained to Ash while running towards him with great concern, "Piplup, stop Litwick with Hydro Pump," Dawn instructed the penguin pokemon while punching the air in front of her.

The water type formed a pool of water in front of his beak and fired a torrent of water at the fire type pokemon, after taking the hit the candle pokemon fell to the ground with the flame getting smaller, Ash got back to his feet and stretched out his arms, "wow thanks Dawn!" Ash thankfully yelled out before Dawn threw her pokeball at the ghost type pokemon, the ball wobbled from side to side and quickly signified the capture of the pokemon.

Dawn picked up the red and white device before being surrounded by a group of Litwicks, Ash and Dawn turned to each other and screamed out in fear, the duo and their respective partner pokemon ran out of the house while being chased by the group of candle pokemon, "I think I captured their leader," Dawn stated while exiting the building.

After making down the pathway the couple collapsed from exhaustion, "Dawn, that was great," Ash commented with great pride, he smiled at the coordinator and gathered his breath, the two got back to their feet, and went back towards the small town, on the way they noticed a cave that led to another destination, "maybe we should check that place out," Ash commented quietly while approaching the cave.

Dawn followed Ash and entered soon after he did, they looked around to see a pool of water in the middle of the cave, the two looked around to see a group of plasma grunts moving around in the cave, "not those guys again," Dawn complained with a sigh.

"We better find out what they want from here," Ash remarked calmly, they walked through the cave following the plasma grunts without being noticed by them. The couple continued to follow until they watched the members of Team Plasma enter another chamber of the cave.

"What could they be after?" Dawn asked while watching the plasma grunts calling out their pokemon.

Suddenly a powerful roar was heard from above them, Ash and dawn averted their gaze to the ceiling of the cave chamber, a large red pokemon with iron claws and mask on its face, "that's Heatran," Ash and Dawn declared in unison, surprised to see the Sinnoh native pokemon in this region.

"There are some intruders," one of the plasma grunts stated while turning around to find Ash and Dawn glaring at them with an angered expression, "ah so it's the Light Stone holder and his girlfriend," the plasma grunt stated while his pokemon got ready to attack the new opponents, "Garbodor attack with Sludge Bomb," he instructed the large garbage bag like pokemon.

"Fraxure, I choose you," Ash called for his new dragon type pokemon. A ball of sludge crashed in front of the axe jaw pokemon causing it to flinch slightly, "Fraxure attack with Dragon Claw," Ash commanded his pokemon with vigour, while his pokemon charged towards the opposing pokemon, Dawn took to Ash's side and nodded at him ready to face the enemies that wanted to take Heatran away from this place.

Dawn took one of her pokeballs and threw it out, "Vanillish, Spotlight," Dawn called out her pokemon to battle alongside Ash, "just so you know, Ash and I make an unbeatable team," Dawn declared with a confident smirk.

"Oh well, it isn't like you can stop us from our grand plan," the plasma grunt told the team of Ash and Dawn.

"Well then you better tell your boss that Dawn and I will make sure that grand plan of your will fail," Ash explained the situation as the two pokemon got ready to attack, "Fraxure attack with Shadow Claw," Ash commanded with a smirk.

"Vanillish, Follow up with Ice Beam," Dawn followed up Ash's instructions with her own attack.

Fraxure charged towards the poison type pokemon with purple claws extending out and the ice type pokemon behind it charging up a frigid beam, "now!" Ash yelled out with power, his pokemon slashed down on the poison type before jumping up to avoid the powerful Ice Beam coming from behind, Garbodor took the back to back hits before being knocked out by the pokemon leaving the grunt in a state of disbelief, "not even give the chance to attack," Ash confidently told the plasma grunt who grit his teeth in frustration.

"I told you we are an unbeatable team," Dawn commented after Ash.

Ash and Dawn ran passed the first plasma grunt followed by their four pokemon, the two plasma called two strange new pokemon, ones that had never been seen before, "what, I thought those two were native to another region," Ash enquired while keeping an eye on the two pokemon.

"Yes these pokemon we managed to get a hold of while we had visitors from the Kalos region," the plasma replied with a dark grin, he looked up to a bat like pokemon with speakers for ears, while the other pokemon looked like a large goat like pokemon, "that's right, we stole these two from trainers who were visiting this region," the plasma grunt professed with great pride.

"No Dawn, our pokedexes are no use, we don't know much about these pokemon," Ash told his girlfriend.

"No information ha? Well the large bat like pokemon is a Noivern, it is a dragon type pokemon and the Gogoat is a Grass type pokemon," The second plasma grunt told Ash and Dawn with confident smirk.

Ash smirked at the plasma grunts before looking over to Dawn, "thanks for the help, you would have been better keeping your mouths shut," Ash commented before a powerful soundwave pulsed through the ground dealing damage to Ash's and Dawn's pokemon, knocking them back towards their respective trainers, "what was that move?" Ash questioned in shock as the dragon type pokemon growled at the two trainers who were tending to their respective pokemon, "it was like a loud sound," Ash commented with a concerned expression.

"That move is called Boomburst, a move that deals damage to all pokemon in the battlefield," the Plasma grunt replied with certainty while the goat like pokemon charged towards the opponents pokemon with glowing green horns, "that move is called Horn Leech," the Plasma grunt arrogantly stated with a proud grin.

"Don't get so overconfident," Ash growled back at the plasma grunt with a grin, he got back to his feet followed by Dawn, their pokemon got ready to attack again, "Fraxure attack with Dragon Claw," Ash instructed his pokemon proudly.

"Vanillish, attack Gogoat with Ice Beam," Dawn ordered her pokemon with her fists clenched.

The two pokemon prepared their attacks and got ready to unleash them on their respective opponents, Fraxure charged towards the large black pokemon before slashing down on the large black pokemon brining it down. At the same time Vanillish fire a powerful beam of ice at the green and brown pokemon also knocking it out from the battle, "ah worthless pokemon," the plasma grunt on the left said while taking his pokeball to recall the knocked out pokemon.

"Pikachu, take those pokeballs now," Ash instructed the small electric mouse pokemon quickly. The yellow mouse charged towards the plasma's and grabbed the pokeballs before quickly returning to Ash, "if you stole these pokemon, then I will find the original owners of these pokemon and return them to those trainers," Ash promised while the two pokemon looked up to Ash with a smile, he activated the pokeballs and proceeded to recall the foreign pokemon.

"We stole them from a girl with long blonde hair and her friend with short black hair," the Plasma grunt decreed with a grin.

"Geez we beat you two up and you still cannot keep that mouth of yours shut," Ash shrugged his shoulders, he shook his head and wondered what was really going on, "so I was in the Kalos region a year ago," Ash stated while walking passed the plasma grunts to approach the legendary pokemon, it glared at him with a fiery gaze, it roared at the trainer pushing him back, "hey I am here to help you!" Ash commented with a gentle smile.

"Ash, watch out!" Dawn cried out with immense concern for her love, she watched in horror as the trainer was effortlessly pushed away by the legendary pokemon, she quickly ran up to him and fell to his side, "are you alright?" Dawn asked with a worried expression on her face.

"You're too late Heatran is far too angry to listen to any of you," the three plasma grunts replied to Dawn's worry before leaving the area.

Dawn looked down at the injured Ash and wondered what to do next, "no Ash, is badly hurt," Dawn cried while looking up to the raging pokemon in front of her, "Piplup, stop Heatran with Hydro Pump," Dawn instructed her water type pokemon, the small penguin pokemon formed a pool of water before send a torrent of water cannoning towards legendary pokemon. The attack slammed into the fire type pokemon hurting, the pokemon became enraged much to the delight of the Plasma grunt, the lava dome pokemon opened its mouth and releasing a powerful orange and red spiral of flames at the injured Ash, "No Ash!" Dawn screamed out while rushing towards him and forgetting that her pokemon was ready to help with saving Ash.

Dawn made it to Ash and tried to pull him away from the incoming attack, Dawn looked up to see the attack almost reaching the duo, she closed her eyes and used all her strength to pull Ash away from the attack and with all that effort she managed to get Ash out of the way before the attack impacted the ground directly in front of her, the heat was intense and light emitting from the attack was really bright, Dawn covered her eyes to prevent herself from getting blinded from the powerful vortex of flames.

After the flames disappeared Dawn came face to face with the powerful fire type pokemon, "please listen to me, we aren't here to hurt you," Dawn told the fire type pokemon while standing in front of the injured trainer.

Ash opened his eyes and began to wince in pain, he spotted Dawn standing in front of him with her arms extended out, "Dawn, she is protecting me," Ash said in shock.

"I know those people made you angry but we aren't here to hurt you, we made it here to save you," Dawn told the legendary pokemon with an assured smile, the legendary pokemon walked up to Dawn and stared at her, Dawn remained on the spot not flinching but was still feeling scared as the hot breath of the pokemon caused her long blue hair to loose moisture, "please Heatran, I know what they did was wrong," Dawn pleaded with a gentle grin. The large pokemon glared at the plasma grunts forcing them to retreat from the area.

The powerful fire type turned around and walked up the walls of the cavern , leaving the duo and their respective pokemon behind, Ash slowly sat up while holding his left side, "Dawn, that took a lot of courage," Ash commented with a smile, Dawn turned around and quickly embraced Ash, causing him the cry out in pain, "Dawn, that hurts," Ash complained with a an expression of pain written all over his face.

"You are such a reckless fool Ash," Dawn stated while crying on Ash's shoulder.

Ash chuckle a little while trying to hide his pain, "well Dawn I think I have decided on an answer," Ash remarked with a smile, "but I need you to wait for a little while," Ash stated while Dawn pulled back from the hug she had given Ash. The bluenette help Ash ready to resume their walk through the cave, "Dawn, you saved my life twice today, I feel really lame now," Ash commented with an embarrassed smile, he had his arm around Dawn while he limped to the other end of the cave, he secretly pulled out the piece of string which was tied in a loop, 'this must be her ring size I assume,' Ash thought before placing it back into his pocket. The trainer quickly returned his attention to Dawn and smiled at her, "you birthday is soon," Ash commented while holding his left side.

"Please Ash keep quiet we are almost there, I will not leave your side, until you fully recover," Dawn promised with great determination, she helped Ash out of the cave before collapsing from exhaustion.

"You're tired Dawn why not rest here?" Ash asked but was surprised to see Dawn getting back up and continuing to help him get to the hospital.

"I am not letting you remain hurt, you made a promise to two strangers, you must return those two pokemon to them," Dawn stated with a smile, she looked over to Ash and stared in his eyes for a moment, "plus, what will I do if I lose you?" Dawn enquired with a more serious expression, she looked up to see a small town before noticing a woman with long blonde hair walking around town in hopes of finding an ice cream, "hey Ash, isn't that Cynthia?" Dawn asked with amazement.

"Yes it is, but why is she here?" Ash asked his girlfriend with a perplexed expression.

"Hey Cynthia!" Dawn yelled out to the Sinnoh Champion.

The powerful trainer turned around to see Dawn helping Ash, "Ash and Dawn, it's good to see you," Cynthia said while approaching the duo, "what happened to you Ash?" Cynthia asked concerned about the injured trainer.

"We battled Team Plasma, Ash got hurt while trying to settle Heatran down," Dawn replied while their four pokemon continued to follow them towards the hospital.

"Alright I will help you Dawn," Cynthia declared with a smile but was refused by Dawn, "what you're going to do this on your own?" Cynthia asked with shock, Dawn nodded and walked closer to the hospital, 'she really must love him if this is how far she is willing to go, just for Ash,' Cynthia thought while returning to her daily chore of finding an ice cream.

Ash looked over to Dawn and frowned at her, "why did you refuse the help?" Ash asked while getting closer to the medical facility.

"Because Ash, I want to prove that I will do everything for you," Dawn replied with a tired grin.

Ash chuckled after hearing Dawn say those words, "those are the exact same words I use when someone asks me what am I willing to do for you?" Ash professed while entering the hospital with the assistance of Dawn, "the answer is anything and everything," Ash stated while being placed on the chair, Dawn stared at him with shock, she shook her head and turned around, she walked to the front counter to get a doctor to help Ash out from his injury.

Dawn returned to sit next to Ash, they quickly returned their pokemon and looked up to the TV, "seems like I need some rest Ash," Dawn stated before collapsing on the her boyfriend's left shoulder.

Ash turned his attention to Dawn and smiled at her, 'I guess I can no longer refuse Dawn's request, fine in three day's time you will see, I promise Dawn,' Ash thought while waiting for the doctor to arrive, he looked at the two pokeballs and thought about the two trainers that owned the pokemon he and Dawn saved from Team Plasma, "I wonder if we will meet these two trainers" Ash asked out loud.

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**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Now we have seen the extent Dawn is willing to go for Ash, and her birthday being soon, well I mean next chapter, what will be her birthday present?**

**Next Time chapter 20: Road towards the future.**


	20. Road towards the Future

**Chapter 20: Road towards the future.**

_Time to start an event that will lead into the next story, yes I am building up to the next story and foreshadowing a major event or two._

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Ash sat up from his hospital bed with his ribs bandaged up and Dawn resting her head next to him asleep, "she never left my side," Ash silently whispered before leaping out of the bed while preventing the bluenette from waking up, he put his clothes back on but was still wincing in pain after his battle with Team Plasma and Heatran, he looked back to see Dawn still sleeping with her head over her arms, "Pikachu, stay here, I have something important I need to do," Ash whispered to his partner pokemon, the trainer walked out of the room and towards the main counter, he looked back to see Dawn still sleeping, "excuse me nurse there is something I need to do, can you keep her from leaving this ward?" Ash requested while pointing to his room, he turned around and ran towards the exit of the hospital, he pulled out the loop of string and nodded, 'I can take a hint, I know exactly what she wants,' Ash thought with a smile as he continued down the hallway towards the main entrance to the hospital.

After making it to the exit of the hospital Ash let out a deep breath, stretching out his arms and taking in the tropical air and the sound of the crashing waves, "I guess I couldn't enjoy this as much," Ash commented with a smile, he looked back at the hospital and nodded, 'Dawn just be a little more patient,' Ash thought while acknowledging Dawn's request.

Back in the hospital Dawn started to awaken from her sleep, she moved her hand to see if Ash was still resting, in that moment Dawn's head jolted up to find that he wasn't there, "Ash, where are you?" Dawn asked with concern, she sat up and looked around the room to see if Ash was around, her concerns grew when finding that Ash wasn't in the room, 'that reckless fool, he is still injured and now he is nowhere in sight,' Dawn thought while clenching her fists in anger. Her expressions soon changed to a smile while thinking about what Ash was really planning, "maybe Ash is doing something," Dawn reminded herself.

She walked out of the room to see if Ash was around, "you must be Dawn right, Ash asked me to make sure you stay here," the nurse told Dawn quietly, "don't worry he will be back soon," the nurse said with assurance.

Dawn walked back to the room and sat down on the chair while thinking about what she had said a few days earlier, "maybe my request was a little rushed," Dawn told herself with while looking into the mirror, "Piplup, Pikachu, did I put more pressure on Ash?" Dawn asked the two pokemon with a concerned expression, she wondered if it was right what she asked of Ash prior to coming here.

The two pokemon watched Dawn walking out towards the balcony and leaning against the railing, they watched as she her whipped around in the wind, "maybe Ash is right," Dawn commented with a gentle smile, she looked back at the pokemon that were standing in the room, "he needs to focus on the Unova League and travelling through the Kalos Region with me," Dawn remarked with a cheeky grin, 'I can wait as long as I want to marry Ash,' the bluenette reminded herself while turning back around to gaze into the distance, "I mean I was foolish enough to wait two years for his return," the coordinator commented with playfully.

Meanwhile back in town Ash was walking around thinking about Dawn's request, "her seventeenth today, well I better make it special in advance of her eighteenth," Ash reminded himself while walking into a jeweller. Ash looked over his shoulder to see if Dawn was following him, 'I hope she isn't following me that would ruin my surprise' Ash thought with a smile while walking into the shop, the trainer looked around to see a display case full of rings and necklaces.

"Hello sir, is there anything that I can help you with? A man wearing a suit asked coolly.

Ash walked up to the counter and looked at the rings for a moment, "yeah, I am looking for something special, for a beautiful young woman from this selection," Ash replied much to the owner's surprise.

"But these are engagement rings, are you sure about this?" the man questioned the trainer.

"I am serious," Ash nodded in reply while looking at a golden ring with a diamond Luvdisc, "how about that one?" Ash asked with a grin.

The man placed a glove on his hand a got the ring out to show Ash, "you see this ring is perfect, but it does need a partner ring and that one is a pearl encrusted Luvdisc," the man explained with a knowing grin, he pulled out the other ring from the display case, "they are sold in a set and they represent so much, having both of them means that you two will remain together forever," the jeweller told Ash calmly before getting ready to put the rings back.

Ash shook his head and placed his hand on the case, "hold it, I want those two rings, I know what she wants and to let her down would be wrong of me," Ash commented while pulling out his overflowing wallet, "I will pay with cash."

The attendant looked at the trainer in shock, un able to believe what he had just seen, "pay in full, she really must mean a lot to you," the jeweller stated, shaking his head and gulping at the same time, "alright I need to get a ring size," the man requested still in a state of disbelief.

Ash looked at the price and started to think about it for a moment, 'I know Dawn would be really upset with me,' Ash thought while pulling out the string and handed it to the attendant, "this is her ring size," Ash stated quietly.

"Alright come back in three hours the ring will be ready," the jeweller stated with joy.

Ash walked out of the shop after paying the man, he looked up to the hospital and thought of something, "wasn't Cynthia here a few days ago?" Ash asked himself while walking around town trying to find the champion, 'she shouldn't be that hard to find, how many women have extremely long blonde hair and wearing all black?" Ash asked himself before hearing the sounds of a powerful pokemon training nearby.

"That's right Garchomp, but more power with that Brick Break," the woman with long blonde hair instructed her pokemon with a confident grin, the powerful dragon type pokemon charged towards the rock with one of her arm fins glowing, the powerful dragon slammed her claw into the rock shattering it sending small pebbles in every direction, "nicely done Garchomp," Cynthia complimented her pokemon while calling her back to the pokeball, she turned around to see Ash standing next to a tree, "Ash, it's good to see that you're better," Cynthia happily commented while walking passed the trainer.

"Cynthia, why are you here?" Ash asked calmly.

"The Unova League is about to happen and I really wanted to see it," Cynthia replied to Ash's question, "so Ash, where is Dawn?" Cynthia asked her friend.

Ash chuckled a little before looking through the canopy, "it seems like I left her at the hospital to give her a great surprise for her birthday today," Ash replied with a smile, he turned his attention to the Sinnoh champion, "where are you staying?" Ash asked the champion quietly.

"There is a villa on the other side of town, I have been staying there for the last few weeks," Cynthia admitted with a smile, she started to walk away before stopping a few more feet away, "there is something you want to do," Cynthia remarked quickly, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at the trainer.

"Can you pick Dawn up from the Hospital, and get her to your villa in three and a half hours?" Ash requested with a gentle grin, "her birthday is today and I have a surprise for her," Ash explained the situation while his face started to turn a little red.

Cynthia threw a set of keys over to Ash and winked at him "Here, take the keys to villa, I will get Dawn so you better be ready in four hours," Cynthia warned Ash with a smile.

"An extra thirty minutes?" Ash asked tilting his head in surprise.

Cynthia walked away from the area leaving Ash in shock at the extra time, "well then I better hurry with the surprise, but first I need to talk to Professor Oak," Ash reminded himself before running towards the Pokemon Center, he looked at the two pokeballs and thought about the two trainers wanting their partners back, 'I will send them to Professor Oak, so that way they are well looked after,' Ash thought to himself while walking slowly to the facility.

Ash walked in and called the professor immediately knowing that he was running out of time, "Hello Ash, your charizard is a little upset that he isn't traveling with you at the moment," the elderly professor told the trainer with a nervous smile.

"Can I ask you a favour?" Ash questioned the pokemon professor quickly.

"Ask away, my tofu is almost ready," the man with a white lab coat asked the trainer.

Ash pulled out two pokeballs and showed them to the Professor, "inside these pokeballs contain two pokemon from the Kalos region, Team Plasma stole them from the original trainers," Ash explained before placing the first one on the teleportation device, "I need you to take care of them until I return from Unova," Ash requested before pressing the button to send the first one over to the Kanto Lab.

"Alright Ash, I know a few things about the Kalos pokemon, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem," Oak replied with a knowing smile, Ash placed the next red and white device on the teleportation device and pressed the button again, "I am sure you will be able to find their original trainers," the professor remarked with great confidence before showing Ash the two pokeballs.

"Thanks Professor, I will be calling soon, right now I am a little busy for Dawn's birthday," Ash said with a soft smile.

"Ah so she is turning seventeen, wish her a happy birthday and I will see you again soon," the professor told Ash before hanging up on the call.

Ash walked quickly to the main entrance and thought another gift for Dawn, it was then that Meloetta appeared next to him, "oh Meloetta, you seem to be appearing more often," Ash commented while walking through the town, the legendary pokemon hovered next to Ash while he walking into a shop, "you should become invisible, so people don't see you around," Ash instructed the pokemon quietly. Ash walked into the shop to see a large variety of cakes, "maybe a strawberry cake," Ash told himself while thinking about the times she saved his life twice in less than a day, 'I guess I owe her one,' Ash thought while remembering the time he saved her from the sinking ship.

"Hello Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" A woman with long green hair asked the trainer with a smile.

"Yes please, I am after a really nice birthday cake for someone special to me," Ash replied while looking around the cake shop.

"Well this cake here is really nice, I am sure she will love it," the woman stated with a smile.

Ash walked over to the cake to see the floral patterns surrounding the cake and a massive happy birthday written in large red cursive writing, Ash nodded approvingly at the cake and pulled out some money to purchase the cake, "it's perfect," Ash complimented and started walking over to the exit, "oh and one more thing, can you please deliver that cake to Cynthia's Villa?" Ash requested before leaving the shop.

Ash walked to another shop to try and get another gift, he walked around for a couple of more hours with no success in finding the present he wanted, "man this is stupid, maybe I can't give her much," Ash berated himself while closing his eyes, he pictured Dawn's bright smile and her blue eyes, "I guess I am not much of a boyfriend if I can't get a half decent gift," Ash complained while dawdling through the town.

After leaving the hospital with Cynthia, Dawn was wondering what Ash was planning, "Cynthia, we are supposed to head to the villa, but why are we taking our time?" Dawn questioned the champion with a puzzled expression. The bluenette followed the champion with Piplup and Pikachu following close behind.

"Come on Dawn, at least enjoy the sites, or come get a sandwich, there is this place that has a really good selection," Cynthia explained with a bright smile.

"See the sites? I would love to do that with Ash," Dawn replied with slight irritation.

"I know, but he is busy doing something important," Cynthia replied as she led Dawn through the small town, Dawn quickly ran in front of Cynthia and stopped her from going any further, she glared at Cynthia and extended her arms out, "Dawn, what are you upset about?" Cynthia asked the coordinator with a worries tone.

"Today is my birthday and Ash promised to spend the day with me today," Dawn retorted with anger, she looked over her shoulder to see Ash walking around town, she quickly turned around to chase after Ash but was stopped by the trainer's Pikachu, "What are you doing Pikachu?" Dawn asked after avoiding a powerful blast of electricity, she looked up again to find that the trainer was gone.

"Dawn, I am not sure what he is planning, but I am certain it's very important," Cynthia told the bluenette with a smile.

Dawn turned her attention to the ground and clenched her fists, "but he promised me that he would spend the day with me today," Dawn stated while sighing heavily, "Cynthia, I put pressure on Ash a few days ago, I just want to tell him that he can take as long as he wants to decide," Dawn requested with a smile.

"Decide what?" Cynthia questioned the blue haired coordinator.

"I told him that one year from now, I want to be his bride," Dawn replied with a smile.

'So that explains why Ash is looking around the town alone,' Cynthia thought calmly, she placed her left hand over her chin and started to think about what the trainer was really planning, 'he is planning on saying yes,' Cynthia guessed while thinking about what these two have been through, "come on Dawn, why not look around Town, I am certain Ash will not disappoint," Cynthia assured Dawn while walking ahead.

Meanwhile Ash breathed a sigh of relief before looking around the palm tree, he noticed that Dawn and Cynthia were walking away from the location they were standing at, he looked at his watch and smiled, "soon Dawn, in less than an hour," Ash told himself while looking up to see the sun moving across the blue sky, "well I better hurry," Ash told himself while running to the jeweller to pick up the rings.

After making it to the shop, he walked in and made it to the front counter, "ah sir, I have finished getting the ring done," the owner of the shop nodded at Ash with a smile, he looked at the rings and thought for a moment, "having second thoughts?" the man asked while noticing the trainer looking back to see Dawn walking across the street with Cynthia, "I can give a refund if you want," the jeweller.

"No, I think I will be fine," Ash replied while taking the rings from the manager, "thanks for helping me," Ash thankfully told the owner of the shop.

Ash walked out of the shop hiding the items in each of his pockets, he walked over to the next shop and thought about the promise he made to Dawn a few days earlier, 'Dawn, I am sorry for making you think I forgot the promise," Ash told himself with slight disappointment, he walked around the town one more time, he looked at his watch and noticed less than thirty minutes before Cynthia would lead Dawn to the Villa.

Ash quickly ran towards the largest building in the town and never stopped to look back, he was almost there before seeing Dawn walking across the street with Cynthia and the pokemon, 'oh man I better hurry,' Ash thought while running towards the large house, he hurriedly pushed the key into the lock and turned it, he knelt down to pick up the box and quickly ran inside to put it on the table, he opened the box and placed the cake on the table, he only had time to put a few candles on the cake before hearing a knock on the door.

Suddenly Ash turned around to see Cynthia walking into her villa with Dawn behind her, Ash rushed around to greet Dawn, "Wow this place is really nice Cynthia," Dawn commented, she looked around to see if Ash was around, but had her eyes covered by someone behind her, "Ash, you jerk, what are you doing?" Dawn asked the trainer with a giggle.

"There goes the surprise," Ash complained before removing his hands. And walked to Dawn's side, "sorry I had some things I needed to do," Ash commented while walking ahead.

Cynthia watched the trainer noticing red shading on his face, 'I knew it something was up,' Cynthia correctly thought while letting Dawn walk on ahead.

Ash walked into the room and looked back to see Dawn walking closer to the room, "close your eyes Dawn," Ash instructed the bluenette with a playful tone.

Dawn followed her boyfriend's instructions and walked into the room with the two pokemon guiding her, "Ash what are you doing?" Dawn asked with a puzzled attitude, she walked in slowly while Ash lit the few candles on her birthday cake, Dawn started to tap her left foot impatiently, waiting for Ash to finish what he needed to do, "how long do I have to wait for Ash?"

"Open them now," Ash replied happily.

Dawn opened her eyes to see the birthday cake in front of her with a few candles lit up, "you got this for me?" Dawn asked her boyfriend with a grin.

"Happy Birthday Dawn, sorry for making you worry," Ash replied while scratching his head.

Dawn walked up to the birthday cake and blew out the candles, she held back her long blue hair to make sure that it didn't catch the small flames. After blowing out the candles she looked up to Ash with a joyous smile, "thank you Ash, I knew you didn't forget my birthday, but the promise to spend the day with me, I need to talk to you about that," Dawn thankfully explained to Ash while the trainer walked up to her.

"Yeah I know you're a little upset, but I had a reason to not to follow through with the promise," Ash replied with a nervous smile, he watched as Dawn cut the cake, he cut up the rest of the cake and gave Dawn the first slice, "you know there is something else, um, could you meet me at the outdoor area on the next floor?" Ash asked his girlfriend while she ate the cake, she turned her attention to Ash while holding her fork in her mouth with an innocent expression, Ash grabbed a slice of the cake and then offered his and Dawn's pokemon a bit of the cake as well as giving Cynthia a piece of the cake, "can't let you miss out."

Ash walked to the steps while Dawn was enjoying the cake, "wow this cake is awesome," Dawn chimed happily, she looked around to see that Ash wasn't in the room, she looked towards the stairs and thought about the moments she told Ash her goal, ' maybe he has been thinking about it,' Dawn wondered to herself.

On the outdoor area Ash walked up to the railing and stared out into the distance, hearing the waves crashing and the gentle wind swaying the trees, Ash pulled out a small box and looked at it for a moment, "well there seems to be no going back," Ash reminded himself quietly.

"No going back? What do you mean Ash?" Dawn questioned the trainer with a nervous smile.

"You know over the last few days, I have been thinking about something," Ash confessed while hiding the small box in his pocket.

"Ash, if it's something to do with my request, then don't keep thinking about it, I am putting more pressure on you because of it," Dawn replied to Ash by putting her finger over his mouth, " you have a lot to worry about, the Unova League and the plan for our next journey," Dawn explained with a submissive grin.

Ash grabbed Dawn's hand and looked into her eyes, "I know, but, I guess we can't really be separated right?" Ash asked the coordinator, he then turned his eyes to the setting sun, he thought about the moments that Ash and Dawn had throughout their travels in the Unova region, he let go of Dawn's hand and placed his arms on the railing, "I have thought heavily for the last three days, I have decided on what needs to be done," Ash commented with a smirk.

Dawn looked at the trainer with great surprise and started to wonder what he was talking about, "what do you mean Ash?" Dawn asked, she turned to the balcony and watched the sun setting, not noticing what Ash was doing next to her.

"Dawn, I have an answer for your request," Ash proclaimed with a smile, he held out the box and opened it.

Dawn quickly turned around to see Ash kneeling in front of her with the ring in her view, she placed her hands over her mouth in shock and stepped back slightly still in shock of what was going on, "Ash, I said I didn't want to put too much on your shoulders," Dawn retorted as tears started to well up.

"No need to worry," Ash chuckled.

"Using my line, I was hoping that you wouldn't be rushing it like I was," Dawn replied with amazement.

"Yeah, I know but I had time to think Dawn," Ash told Dawn with a proud smile, "I thought, that there would be no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with," Ash commented while he was starting to lose balance.

Dawn started to cry while Ash got back to his feet, she jumped into an embrace with Ash, "you really mean that Ash?" Dawn asked the raven haired trainer with tears of joy, "even though, it would put more pressure on you," Dawn told Ash with a nervous smile.

"I don't mind Dawn, I just want to be with you forever," Ash replied happily.

Dawn pulled back and glared into Ash's eyes, "there is no need to be joking around Ash," Dawn berated Ash with a serious tone.

"I am not joking Dawn, I am totally serious," Ash commented with a smile.

Dawn stared at the trainer in awe of his comments, she looked to the ground cleaned away some of her tears, "are you sure about this Ash?" Dawn enquired while still looking at the ground.

Ash placed his left hand under Dawn's chin and smile at her, "yes I am serious," Ash replied calmly.

Ash opened the box again this time Dawn looked closely at the diamond ring, she thought for a moment again thinking about their journey, "what day do you intend for it to happen?" Dawn asked quietly.

"On your eighteenth, like you wanted," Ash replied with a cheeky grin. Dawn hesitated for a moment, her mouth agape, she remained speechless, she looked around trying to figure out what to say next, a million thoughts rushed through her mind, trying to take in Ash's proposal, "come on Dawn say something," Ash instructed his girlfriend with a smile.

Dawn gulped and then smiled, "yes Ash, I accept," Dawn replied blissfully. Ash placed the ring on Dawn's left ring finger before holding her hand afterwards, the two looked into one another's eyes and gently smiled at each other, "I can't believe you did all of this," Dawn stated feeling like she was the happiest woman on the planet.

Ash took Dawn's hand and led her back into the villa, "come on Dawn, we still have some time before the sun is fully set," Ash told the bluenette happily. The two walked out of the place and down towards the gate, "this is the perfect time to spend some time together," Ash complied with pride, the two walked out of the yard and down towards the shoreline, holding hands tightly knowing that the next road in their lives was about to take a new direction.

"You know Ash, I am really happy, but why did you decide that you wanted to marry me one year from now?" Dawn asked her love with a perplexed smile.

Ash looked up to the horizon before seeing the sea line expanding across it, "well, I was thinking about it because, I now know that there is no way you would ever leave me," Ash replied with a broad grin.

"No Ash there is more I know you better than that," Dawn remarked while walking up to the sand, after walking to the shoreline with Ash, the coordinator sat down with Ash next to her.

"Well, the answer to that question Dawn, is I felt that I owed it to you, you saved my life twice, you were patient when I was gone for two years and no accident drove us apart, we are really the ultimate couple, the ultimate team and I never want to see our team fall apart ever," Ash replied with a proud smile, after hearing this Dawn placed her arms around Ash and cried over his shoulder with great joy.

Happy to hear those words she pulled back and smiled at him, Ash cleared the tears of joy away and softly smiled at her, "Dawn, nothing will ever separate us, that's my promise to you," Ash decreed with Dawn embracing him again.

"That is the best thing you said to me Ash," Dawn cried happily before closing her eyes.

Dawn pulled away again this time seeing the final moments of the sunset, Ash placed his arm around her bringing her closer, "you know, I am the luckiest man in the world," Ash commented with great pride.

"How so Ash?" Dawn enquired playfully.

"Because I have you with me, I will never let anything happen to you," Ash replied with his promise to Dawn, he looked into her eyes and smiled at her, "there is plenty of time, one year from now," Ash stated while looking up to the changing sky color.

"Yes I cannot wait," Dawn replied before moving in quickly to kiss Ash.

After the sudden action Ash returned the kiss while the sounds of the water crashing on the shore, for what seemed like forever they held the same position this time closing their eyes, memories flashed in their minds of the journey that led them to this new moment, before the water hit their feet forcing them to stop before they got wet, "well, it seems like we need to wait," Ash commented while getting up, he extended his hand to Dawn and helped her up.

"Not a chance, there is no more waiting, from now on the road to our future begins the moment we walk off this beach, plus I have been thinking….." Dawn started before being interrupted by Ash who chuckled at her.

Ash placed his hand over Dawn's mouth, "one step at a time Dawn," Ash instructed his fiancée with a cheeky laugh. They walked off the beach hand in hand, smiling at each other the rest of the way back to the villa, "I know what you were thinking Dawn, that can wait," Ash commented while Dawn grasped onto his left arm and resting her head on his shoulder.

Dawn closed her eyes and pictured her future with Ash, "I love you Ash, no matter what," Dawn silently professed while she walked with Ash to collect her pokemon.

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**I hope you all liked this one, I had a few chapters with a bit of drama between the two so I wanted a really sweet one for them, but now Ash and Dawn will follow a new road, the next gym battle will happen in two chapters from now then we will get the next gym leader done before we get to the Unova League.**

**What was Dawn thinking?**

**Next Time chapter 21: The Power of Truth**


	21. The Power of Truth

**Chapter 21: The Power of Truth.**

_Alright some of my readers have asked me to have some action, the last chapter I sort of had to get out of the way, now there should be no holds barred now, time for a fight._

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"So have we secured the device that will allow us to control pokemon?" a man with green hair asked the scientist who was working with the other plasma grunts, he picked up the device and showed to the man, "excellent, now is the time to use this device on the legendary Kami Trio," he smirked grimly while looking up to the skies and started to laugh, 'once this device is operational I will use this device to capture Kyurem,'the man thought with laughter.

"Master Ghetsis, what of your son, Concordia and Anthea?" Colress asked with a concerned expression.

Ghetsis looked down and smiled at his employee, "N can show up, in fact I am counting on it," Ghetsis replied with a calmer dispostition, "we need to use this device on Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus, we will use this to draw out Kyurem which is the ultimate objective," Ghetsis remarked with a maniacal laugh as he pointed towards the large device that stood in front of him. The Plasma leader turned around and walked out to the deck of his ship, he walked to the front of the ship and looked around to see the clouds moving across the sky, very soon this world will belong to me, but first I will burn every town and city to the ground in my search for the DNA Splicers,'Ghetsis thought while picturing his next target, Colress walked up to the deck and slowly approached the leader confidently, "what is Colress?" Ghetsis asked while placing her left arm behind his back.

"Sir, what about the trainer with the Light Stone?" the scientist asked with concern.

"Well either Zekrom or Reshiram, will be fine with me, just as long as I can combine the powers of either of them with Kyurem," The Plasma leader stated, staring into the distance.

"Very well sir, the Shadow Triad is preparing to start their mission," Colress saluted to his superior. The scientist turned around and started to walk back to his post, 'very soon, we will realise the potential of all pokemon,' Colress thought calmly, he continued to walk through the halls of the first floor of the ship before being approached by an elderly man wearing mostly black, "ah master Zinzolin, why are you walking around on your own?" the scientist asked quietly.

The elderly man walked up to the scientist and smirked at him, "you have done well in since our defeat three years ago young Colress," the sage told the man proudly.

"I am not worthy of any praise, I am just following the orders of my superiors are handing to me, plus you have allowed me to build my research over the last few years due to the funding you have supplied," Colress replied with great pride, the scientist nodded his head and walked back to the lab to finish off the last of his research, "once the Shadow Triad get a hold of the legendary Kami, our next goal is to attack Oplucid City," Colress stated calmly.

"No, we need the boundary pokemon Kyurem to show our power to the world, Master Ghetsis is interested in not only taking over Unova but the whole world in the process, so we will need an army of legendary pokemon at our disposal," Zinzolin explained quietly.

After the short conversation, the two went their separate ways to complete their tasks, 'this could get really interesting,' Colress wondered to himself while thinking about the plans that have been unfolding over a short period of time, "I wonder what else my experiments will show me," Colress thought out loud to himself .

Meanwhile in Undella Town Ash and Dawn were preparing to leave, "hurry up Ash, we need to get to the next gym as soon as possible!" Dawn yelled out to Ash, she placed her hands on her hips and tapped her left foot on the ground, after a ten minute wait Ash had finally emerged from the villa with a bag full of food, "about time Ash, I was wondering whether you had forgotten that you had two gyms to beat," Dawn said irritably.

"Sorry about that Dawn, I was um….."Ash started before being interrupted by Dawn.

"No excuses Ash, I know you were ringing every one of our friends telling them about my eighteenth birthday and how significant it will be," Dawn guess with a cheeky grin before turning around, "I talked to my mom last night, she was really happy about the news as well," Dawn explained with pride, she walked towards the road while Ash looked down at the two pokemon next to him, "hurry up Pikachu and Piplup," Dawn called over to the starter pokemon with great excitement.

"Hey aren't you forgetting someone?" Ash complained with his arms crossed.

"I have already told you to hurry up once to do it again would be a little pointless," Dawn replied with a cheeky grin. Ash ran up to Dawn to continue their journey, following the road towards the next city, Ash pulled out a map to see where they were heading next, "so where is our next stop?" Dawn asked as she turned her attention to the map.

"A small town called Lacunosa Town," Ash pointed on the map. Ash quickly placed his hand on his head stopped on the spot and closed his eyes, 'what is it Reshiram?'

'Ash, I am sensing a serious danger coming, you might need your best pokemon soon,' Reshiram told Ash as sternly as possible.

"Ash, are you alright, we can stop here if you want," Dawn said with concern for Ash.

Ash shook his head and walked a head of the bluenette, "no I am fine, Reshiram was telling me that there is something wrong, we better hurry to see what it is," Ash replied to Dawn's concern. The trainer walked ahead leaving Dawn standing on the spot looking at the two pokemon concerned for Ash, "hurry up Dawn; we don't have all day," Ash called over to his future wife. Ash walked further up the route and thought about what Reshiram was saying to him, 'Reshiram, what do you think it is?'

'I sense a storm approaching, you will need my power to stop it, but I also sense something far worse to come,' Reshiram explained with a concerned tone.

Ash looked ahead to see ominous dark clouds hovering over a patch of sky and not moving, he walked slowly to allow Dawn to catch up with the two partner pokemon, suddenly Meloetta appeared between Ash and Dawn with a fearful expression, "what's the matter Meloetta?" Ash asked the legendary pokemon, before it collapsed to the ground in pain; Ash quickly knelt to the ground to pick the small pokemon up.

"Ash, I have a bad feeling, Team Plasma might be causing trouble," Dawn decreed while watching the small pokemon writhing in pain.

"I think it has something to do with those clouds, they aren't moving like normal clouds should," Ash replied while looking up at the storm clouds until he spotted a powerful bolt of lightning, "we better hurry," Ash quickly got up and ran towards the powerful storm, 'this could be the storm that Reshram was telling about,' Ash wondered while rushing towards the location of the storm.

"Ash, what about Meloetta?" Dawn asked while running next to Ash.

Ash and Dawn continued to run while their respective partner pokemon keeping up, "I don't know why Meloetta is hurting, but I bet we will find out soon," Ash replied before being knocked to the ground by a powerful gust of wind, Ash looked up to see where the wind was coming from, he covered her eyes to prevent the build-up of dust from hitting his eyes.

Dawn also covered her eyes while trying to talk to Ash, but the strength of the wind was preventing her from saying something, the wind died down as fast as it set in, "that was weird Ash," Dawn commented with concern.

Ash got to his feet and looked around to see large trees collapsed to the ground and, "yeah know what you mean Dawn," Ash replied while looking around to everything behind them remaining relatively undamaged, "and weirder yet, there is that," Ash pointed over to trees behind him.

'That could be the work of Tornadus, the legendary pokemon of wind in the Unova Region, so that could mean that Thundurus isn't too far away, which could then mean that someone is after Landorus,' Reshiram's voice echoed in Ash's mind.

"If this is the power of those pokemon you're talking about Reshiram, then what about the town ahead?" Ash asked the pokemon with great concern.

Dawn looked back to Ash with a worried manner, "Ash who are you talking to?" Dawn asked the trainer next to her.

"I am talking to Reshiram," Ash replied while Dawn looked at him in a puzzled expression.

'It means that someone has attacked the town to lure the three out,' Reshiram told Ash leaving the trainer concerned about the prospect of having a fight with those people.

Ash and Dawn continued to walk towards the town, Ash helping Dawn climb over the fallen trees and the pokemon remaining next to the trainers, Meloetta remained unconscious this time in Dawn's arms, "what are we going to do with Meloetta?" Dawn questioned Ash while looking at the small pokemon with a worried look in her eyes. The couple continued to walk through the route wanting to hurry in case the winds picked up.

Ash looked over his shoulder to find that Meloetta was still not well, "I don't know Dawn, we will find our answers soon," Ash replied trying to keep calm. Ash and Dawn looked up to the dark clouds, it was almost like night in the middle of the day, "I have never seen clouds so dark," Ash commented with great concern. After recommencing their walk towards the town a powerful gust of wind pushed the trainers back, Ash looked up while trying to shield his eyes from the powerful wind, he spotted a green bird with a purple tail and a large blue serpent like pokemon with a black tail, "I have never seen those pokemon before," Ash stated while noticing the two pokemon glaring at one another.

Dawn spotted three men dressed in black ahead of them watching the battle eagerly, "over there, I see those three men watching the battle," Dawn stated quietly.

"Ah good, things are going well, soon Landorus will show himself," one of the men said darkly, while watching the two pokemon fighting.

"Yes even the legendary Meloetta will be captured soon," the man on the right said as he watched the two pokemon crashing into each other.

The two pokemon flew back and readied to attack the other with their most powerful attacks, a powerful twister appeared destroying parts of the small town while a blast of lightning appeared near Ash and Dawn, in a quick reaction Ash picked Dawn up and jumped back, "thanks Ash," Dawn thankfully replied while being placed on the ground. They looked around as the weather started to get worse making it impossible to even stand.

Ash struggled to stay standing as the wind intensified, "we can't get any closer," Ash complained while still trying to hold his footing from the severe winds that were buffeting them from every direction, Ash tried to walk slowly but was being pushed back, "oh man, those winds are strong," Ash commented while shielding his face.

Meloetta opened its eyes and tried to attack the two pokemon, but only ended up doing nothing to the fighting pokemon, one of the men turned to see Ash and Dawn struggling to hold their ground with Meloetta in Dawn's arms, "ah, so you arrived, just like Master Ghetsis'prediction," the shady man in the centre said with a smirk.

"What are you doing?!" Ash snapped in rage, his fists clenched and his partner pokemon ready to attack.

"Ah so you are seeing the legendary Kami Trio in the Therian Formes," the plasma trio stated in unison.

"I only see two of them!" Dawn yelled out while the small pokemon in her arms woke up and got ready to attack, "Meloetta, you're alright," Dawn said but still remained concerned with the small pokemon.

"You see two, because the third one isn't here yet, he usually arrives when the fighting between Tornadus and Thundurus gets to a critical level, right now the battle has only just gotten warmed up," the plasma member on the left explained to the duo standing in front of them.

"Who the hell are you?" Ash asked in anger.

"We are Team Plasma's Shadow Triad, the most elite unit in Team Plasma," the man in the middle introduced themselves to Ash and Dawn. The centre Shadow Triad turned around to see the battle unfold between the two legendary pokemon, "our goal is to capture these three pokemon, in order to help us capture the next target," he stated while looking over her shoulder, "keep them busy," he ordered the other two members of the Shadow Triad as he approached the fighting pokemon on his own.

"Bisharp, appear from the Shadows," the man on the right called out for a red, black and white pokemon with a blade on its head.

"Absol, time to battle," the other shadow Triad member called out for the a mostly white quadruped pokemon with a black blade on its head.

Ash and Dawn pulled out their pokeballs ready to face the duo in a tag battle, "Fraxure, I choose you," Ash called for his partner pokemon with confidence.

"Vanillish, spotlight," Dawn called for her ice type pokemon.

The two pokemon from Ash and Dawn got ready to face the two dark type pokemon in the battle, "Fraxure attack Bisharp with Dragon Claw," Ash ordered his pokemon with great confidence.

"Vanillish, use Ice Beam on Absol," Dawn ordered her pokemon to attack as well.

"Absol, reply with Razor Wind," the opponent instructed his pokemon.

"BIsharp, attack with Night Slash," the other opponent ordered his dark type pokemon with supreme confidence.

The dragon and the steel type ran towards one another with claws glowing white and black for the respective pokemon while the attacks of Vanillish and Absol collided in the middle of the battle causing a blizzard in the middle of the battlefield knocking the two pokemon attacking one another back from each other, "oh man those two are good," Ash complimented the opposing trainers with great frustration.

"Ash, look over towards Meloetta," Dawn pointed towards the smaller pokemon in the sky.

Ash looked up to see the small pokemon trying her best to fight the much larger pokemon, "Dawn, you need to capture Meloetta, I will do what I can to keep these guys busy," Ash whispered to a shocked coordinator. Ash walked in front of Dawn while pulling out another of his pokeballs, "go, I will be fine," Ash told the bluenette while getting ready to face the Shadow Triad with another of his pokemon, "Lucario, I choose you," Ash called for his second pokemon in the battle, his aura pokemon got ready to face the dark type pokemon with his team mate.

"Take care Ash," Dawn told Ash with determination, she ran up a head with her ice type pokemon, she, looked up to see the small pokemon falling from the sky, she pulled out her pokeball and threw it at the injured pokemon, the pokeball entrapped the legendary pokemon before falling to the ground, the pokeball wobbled from side to side while Dawn continued to run up to it, she picked the pokeball up with one hand before falling backwards after a sudden gust of wind knocked her backwards, she tried to get up but fell back down again, she grasped her ankle and winced in pain, 'oh great, I just sprained my ankle,' Dawn thought while another jolt of pain coursed through her body.

As the battle between the four pokemon raged on Ash noticed Dawn was on the ground struggling to get to her feet only to fall back down again, "Dawn!" Ash called over to the bluenette, he tried to run over to her but was stopped by one of the Shadow Triad, "get out of my way!" the trainer demanded with anger.

"Not until the third one shows up," he replied with a nasty smirk.

Ash tried to push himself pass the Shadow Triad but was pushed to the ground while his pokemon continued to fight the dark type pokemon, "move it!" Ash demanded after getting to his feet, he glared at the plasma elite while the powerful attacks exploded behind him, the trainer looked back to see his pokemon taking the upper hand in the battle against the dark type pokemon, it was then that his dragon type pokemon started to glow a pure white, it grew taller and an saxe like formation appeared from its mouth, after the glowing stopped, there stood a large yellow and grey pokemon with red claws and sides to the axe like tusks, "what is that pokemon?" Ash asked quietly before the large pokemon let out a powerful roar.

Dawn looked back to see Ash's new pokemon who was ready to attack the dark type pokemon, "amazing, Ash's Fraxure evolved," Dawn complimented with a smile.

Dawn looked up to see the two pokemon racing towards each other not turning away in fear with wind and lightning crashing around the battlefield, "watch little girl, the third one is about to arrive," the man in front of the bluenette declared with a glint in his eyes, he prepared the pokeballs, he started to laugh at the situation maniacally before a loud roar was heard coming from above the two fighting pokemon.

"What was that?" Dawn asked while placing her hands on a tree stump to help herself up. She looked up to see an orange quadruped pokemon with a brown tail descending from the clouds, "the third one," Dawn gasped in shock, she looked back to see Ash defeating the other plasma elites with his pokemon, they soon retreated to where their leader was, Dawn tried to walk but soon fell to the ground, "great I still cannot walk properly," Dawn whispered to herself while her small blue pokemon looked at his trainer with concern.

Ash ran over to Dawn to check on her injury, "are you alright?" Ash asked with a concerned tone.

Dawn shook her head and looked down at her ankle, "Ash I think I sprained my ankle," Dawn retorted while taking off her boot to check on her injury.

"Oh man, that is swollen," Ash commented while looking at the swollen ankle of the blue haired coordinator. Ash looked up to see the three pokemon fighting while trying to figure out a way to stop the Shadow Triad.

Ash looked over to Dawn with concern for her safety, "go Ash, I will be fine, you need to stop the Shadow Triad," Dawn commented with a smile while lightly pushing the trainer towards the fight.

Ash looked back and smiled at his fiancée, "alright Lucario, help Dawn go somewhere safe," Ash instructed his aura pokemon. While Dawn was going somewhere safe with the help of the fighting pokemon Ash rushed towards the battlefield, he looked around to see a massive tornado heading his way, "oh no!" Ash yelled out in horror as the massive funnel of wind headed his way.

'Enough,' a powerful voice called out in frustration, Ash felt his bag open up and the Light Stone shooting out of his bag, a wave of flames pulsated from the stone preventing the twister from getting any closer to the trainer, it grew larger until it started to take shape.

"Quick we need to capture the three pokemon," the leader of the Shadow Triad told his partners in crime, they each threw their pokeballs but it was blown away by the three pokemon, "not good, if we cannot capture them, then our mission will be a failure," The leader stated while looking over his shoulder to see the dragon pokemon almost ready to fully appear.

"Pikachu, stop them with Thunderbolt," Ash instructed his pokemon, the small electric pokemon unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity at the three members of Team Plasma, they jumped out of the way to prevent from being hit by the electric attack, "there is no way I am going to let you get those three pokemon and there is no way I am going to let you succeed!" Ash yelled out in anger, the small electric pokemon jumped back to the front of the trainer ready to receive another command from his trainer.

"You're a fool boy, we have the advantage, we have learned all about you since you reached Unova, we know how strong you are as a trainer," the Plasma on the right told the trainer with an arrogant smirk.

"That's right and even training your girlfriend to face the swords of Justice with two other people, it seems like there are a lot of forces opposing us, but it matters now," the man on the left explained calmly.

"Why doesn't it matter?" Ash asked furiously while the plasma trio.

"Because our real targets are Oplucid City and Kyurem," the leader retorted as the three pokemon fell to the ground.

"Oh no you don't," Ash dictated as he started to run towards the three pokemon, as he got closer a powerful red and yellow beam crashing in front of the trainer, Ash jumped out of the way to avoid the powerful attack, "crap a Hyper Beam," Ash hissed in annoyance, he landed with Pikachu next to him.

The Shadow Triad walked up to the three injured pokemon with their pokeballs in hand, but before they could capture the pokemon a devastating ball of flames crashed next to the kami trio, "great the dragon has arrived," the Shadow Triad leader complained while looking over his shoulder to see the three legendary pokemon getting up slowly, "I will keep them busy, you two will capture the three pokemon," the leader told the other two members of The Shadow Triad calmly, he grabbed a pokeball and walked up to face Ash in battle, "you really think that you can defeat us,?" the leader asked the trainer confidently as he prepared to call out his pokemon.

"What is the main objective? Tell me!" Ash demanded angrily.

The Shadow Triad called out a yellow and orange pokemon with a red comb, "you seriously want to know?" the Shadow Triad member asked the trainer while remaining calm. Suddenly another powerful ball of flames came crashing towards the ground causing a massive shockwave, the powerful dragon let out a powerful roar while one of the legendary pokemon got trapped inside a pokeball, "ah one down," he said with a smirk.

"Let it go!" Ash demanded while running up to the pokeball but he was tackled to the ground by Scrafty, "Garchomp, use Dragon Claw," Ash called for a large blue pokemon, he appeared and slashed down on the fighting type pokemon, Ash got to his feet to see the last two of the pokemon getting trapped inside a pokeball.

The leader leapt in front of the trainer again to prevent him from getting closer to the capturing devices, "I cannot let you get closer to our objectives," the plasma elite told Ash before pushing him back towards a tree stump, but before the trainer was about to be injured the dragon pushed the plasma leader aside, "how can I forget? You have a new ally," the Shadow Triad leader asked himself while shaking his head in shame.

"The mission is a success," the plasma elite told the leader with a proud tone.

Ash grabbed his ribs and collapsed to the ground, "even with the help of Reshiram, I was still unable to save the legendary pokemon," Ash punched the ground in anger.

Before the shadow Triad could leave a powerful dark beam of energy crashed down in front of the dark trainers, "you abuse the power of legendary pokemon, you two aren't worthy trainers," said a man with long blue hair wearing mostly top with blue jeans, "get up Ash, now is the time for you to capture you legendary pokemon," the man told Ash with a proud smile.

"Tobias, what are you doing here?" Ash asked the powerful trainer while spotting Darkrai hovering next to him.

"Never mind that, we have something we need to accomplish first, I have heard a lot about Team Plasma," Tobias told Ash while keeping his focus on the Shadow Triad.

The Plasma elite looked around and smirked at the two trainers getting ready to face them in battle, "you are the strongest trainers in the region, yet we have completed our mission to capture the legendary Kami, right now we will be taking our leave," the leader explained before throwing a smoke bomb onto the ground, a veil of smoke appeared in the area where the elites were standing .

"You will not escape!" Ash yelled out in anger.

After the smoke cleared Ash and Tobias noticed that the trio had disappeared from the area, "great, they have the legendary pokemon now," Tobias hissed in resentment, he looked over to Ash who was still holding onto his left side and walking around to find Dawn with his Lucario, "I am going on ahead, we need to find a way of stopping Team Plasma," Tobia told the trainer his plan before leaving the area with his Darkrai.

"Come on Reshiram, we need to help Dawn out," Ash told his legendary pokemon.

'Alright, after we find Dawn, we need to have a battle, I want to test your resolve,' Reshiram replied to Ash's request.

Dawn hobbled out of a cave and looked around to see the skies clearing up, "seems like Ash succeeded in saving the three pokemon," Dawn said while getting help by one of Ash's pokemon, she looked around to see the destruction of the area, the soaking ground around her and true scale of the battle around her, "wow that was nasty," Dawn stated while looking up to see a large white pokemon with a turbofan like tail approaching her, she watched in fear as the pokemon got closer to her. Before turning around she noticed Ash sitting on the back of the large pokemon, "it can't be Ash is here," Dawn said with a relieved smile, she looked at the expression on the trainer's face and wondered what was going on.

After the legendary pokemon landed in front of Dawn, Ash leapt off the pokemon and approached Dawn, his expression saddened by what seemed like defeat at the hands of Team Plasma, "I lost the battle, they captured Tornadus, Landorus and Thundurus," Ash clenched his fist in anger leaving Dawn in shock at what she had heard, "they escaped with the legendary pokemon, even while I had a bit of help from Tobias," Ash said while looking at the ground reeling at the defeat that he had suffered at the hands of Team Plasma.

Dawn limped up to Ash and placed her left hand on his cheek, "we will save them Ash," Dawn promised the raven haired trainer with a smile.

A large blue pokemon appeared in front of the duo standing next to the vast white pokemon, 'it's almost time, we will be battling soon,' the large pokemon told the female with a smile.

Ash placed his arm around to help her keep balance, "but I am injured at the moment, I need time to recover," Dawn told the legendary pokemon with a concerned look on her face, she pointed down to her foot which showed signs of bruising, "I can barely walk," she commented with a sigh while watching Ash recalling his pokemon from the battle.

'We can't delay any longer than we already have, we need to make sure you're strong enough to face Kyurem,' the iron will pokemon told the coordinator while looking over to the vast white pokemon.

'That's right, now is the time to battle us,' Reshiram replied to the other legendries challenge to battle.

Ash and Dawn looked at one another concerned for what was going on, the two legendary pokemon stood in front of them, "Dawn, we're a team, we will battle side by side if we have to," Ash told the coordinator while gulping. "Alright we have one condition," Ash looked up to the two legendary pokemon with a determined expression.

"Our battle will be a tag battle, our specialty," Dawn replied to Ash's confident challenge.

The two legendary pokemon looked at each other and nodded, 'very well, but at the end of the battle you must capture us,' Cobalion instructed the two trainers leaving them in shock at the declaration, 'you may only use three pokemon each in this battle, good luck to both of you,' Cobalion finished before heading to its end of the battlefield with the vast white pokemon.

"Ash, I still don't think I can stand, my ankle still hurts pretty badly, but I will still battle on," Dawn declared her willingness to battle with the legendary pokemon.

Ash, looked over to Dawn and smiled at her, "if you feel like you cannot battle anymore, then say so I will finish the battle on my own," Ash whispered. "Garchomp I choose you," Ash called out for his first pokemon in the battle against the two legendary pokemon.

Dawn grabbed her pokeball while staying balanced next Ash, she winced in pain as she threw out her pokeball to face the battle with Ash at her side, "Lopunny, spotlight."

The two trainers stared at the intimidating pokemon, ready to face the new challenge, "to stop Team Plasma, we will do what is needed," Ash and Dawn declared in unison while standing side by side on the road ruined by the previous battle.

* * *

**Next chapter we will have the battle against the legendary pokemon. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, changed things up a little for you guys, and don't worry the romance side of things will be watered down until the next saga (I hope)**

**Will Ash and Dawn win the battle against the legendary pokemon in the chosen battle? Or will they face another defeat? And will they capture the legendary pokemon that will help them save Unova?**

**Next time chapter 22: The Sword of Truth and Justice**


	22. The Sword of Truth and Justice

**Chapter 22: The Sword of Truth and Justice.**

_The tag battle against the two legendary pokemon, to decide the fate of Unova and the world begins now._

_N: 19_

* * *

Ash held Dawn in place as their pokemon got ready to battle against the two powerful pokemon, standing on a road surrounded by fallen trees and small sport fires, the two pokemon stood ready to battle the legendary pokemon, 'just to let you know the ones you call Rosa and Hugh have captured Virizion and Terrakion,' Cobalion advised the trainers leaving them a little surprised at the declaration.

"So our friends have succeeded before us," Ash chuckled while Dawn stared at the legendary pokemon, "well then, we better show them how it's done," Ash commented while glaring at the two pokemon.

"Yeah, let's show them our team," Dawn retorted while leaning on Ash.

Ash nodded and turned his gaze to his dragon type pokemon, the sword of justice charged towards the normal type pokemon with a blue blade appearing from the top of its head, "quick Lopunny dodge the attack with Bounce," Dawn instructed her pokemon in a hurried manner. While Dawn instructed her pokemon to save itself Reshiram prepared a powerful blast of energy for the opposing dragon type pokemon, "Ash, you deal with Reshiram," Dawn confidently instructed her love with a knowing smile.

"Garchomp, move to the right, then attack with Dragon Claw," Ash ordered his mighty dragon type pokemon.

The blue dragon move to the side then rushed towards the vast white pokemon with glowing white claws, as the duo's pokemon moved towards the legendary pokemon they both attacked again preventing them from landing their attacks, Dawn tried to put her injured foot on the ground but a sudden jolt of pain coursed through her body again forcing her to pick it up again, "Ash, you can let go now," Dawn told Ash before moving aside, she hopped to the left and tried to maintain her balance on one foot, she looked over to the iron will pokemon, "even while injured I will still battle you," Dawn decreed with pride.

'You've got determination, I am certainly glad that I chose to test you,' Cobalion confessed while the blade on its head extended outwards, it charged towards the rabbit pokemon.

"Ice Beam now," Dawn commanded her pokemon with confidence, the brown pokemon unleashed a powerful icy beam at the charging pokemon, the larger pokemon slashed down on the frigid attack slicing it down, the beam went in all directions causing Ash's agile pokemon to dodge the attacks but the much slower white pokemon was forced to defend itself from with a fiery attack, a stray branch of Ice Beam slammed into the large dragon pokemon causing it to roar in pain.

"Now Garchomp attack with Dragon Rush," Ash called out with confidence. The appendages on the white pokemon started to glow white, it flew towards the hurt vast white pokemon with a raging light blue aura shaped like a dragon, as the dragon got closer the powerful legendary formed a ball of flames and sent it cannoning into the mach pokemon dealing significant damage, "Garchomp!" Ash yelled out for his pokemon before seeing the brown pokemon fall to the ground after taking a hit from Cobalion.

"Lopunny, are you alright?" Dawn asked her pokemon with a concerned tone.

"Dawn, they aren't out of the battle yet, we need to recall them for now," Ash whispered while taking his pokeball and recalling his pokemon, Dawn followed suit and picked her next pokeball, "she has a different pokemon with her," Ash thought to himself while looking at the determined blue haired coordinator.

"I caught this pokemon a year ago and trained it to be really strong," Dawn stated while throwing her pokeball out, "Arcanine, spotlight," Dawn called out a mostly orange and black four legged pokemon to battle.

"So I wasn't the only one to capture some pokemon," Ash commented while looking at the proud pokemon standing in front of Dawn, the trainer pulled out his next pokeball and threw it out for the next stage of the battle, "Charizard I choose you," Ash called for his second pokemon. The powerful orange pokemon let out an intimidating bellow before staring at the two opposing pokemon, Ash noticed Dawn trying to keep her balance and tried to walk up to her, he was stopped and showed a concerned expression for her wellbeing, "Dawn," Ash whispered silently.

Dawn nodded with a smile and then turned her attention to the battle, "I am not entirely useless, I might be injured, but I will still stand in this battle, to protect the ones I love," Dawn said with great determination, "Arcanine, use Heat Wave," Dawn instructed the legendary pokemon with boundless confidence.

Ash watched as the fire type unleashed a wave of hot energy towards the two foes, "Charizard attack with Dragon Pulse," Ash gave his orders to the fire type pokemon, the massive fire lizard formed a ball of energy from his mouth. At the same time the large white pokemon formed a sphere of energy and fired it at the at the same time as Charizard, the two attacks collided in the middle of the battlefield causing a powerful explosion, the massive shockwave sent in every direction knocking Ash and Dawn to the ground, Ash got back to his feet to see the felled trees and an injured Dawn on the ground, "Dawn," Ash ran over to Dawn and knelt down next to her.

Dawn opened her eyes with blood trickling down her arm, "I am fine," Dawn replied while slowly getting to her feet, she stood on one foot while gently placing her other foot on the ground.

"No Dawn, I will take care of this battle," Ash said with concern while the two legendary pokemon watched Ash help dawn push his arm away and refusing his help, "what are you doing?" Ash asked before Dawn collapsed on one knee.

"I am fine Ash, I am not that weak," Dawn retorted while glaring at the iron will pokemon.

The fighting type pokemon noticed the determined stare and nodded, 'she has a strong will,' Cobalion stated with pride, the legendary pokemon charged towards the fire dog pokemon.

"Flamethrower," Dawn commanded her Arcanine while grasping her injured ankle. Dawn's fire type pokemon unleashed a flurry of intense flames at the sword of justice hurting the steel type with, "I might be hurt but I will never give up," Dawn growled at the two legendary pokemon while Ash stood on the spot in shock, "well, are you going to battle as well?" Dawn asked with a smirk.

Ash nodded while the iron will pokemon landed away from the flames, 'she is one of the best opponents, determined to win,' Cobalion stated while Reshiram turned its attention to Ash.

"Right, I will fight, I am still concerned for you," Ash remarked while his fire type roared loudly at the vast white pokemon, "Steel Wing now Charizard," Ash commanded his powerful fire type pokemon, the wings of Charizard started to glow before he flew right at the targeted pokemon, meanwhile the pokemon of truth sent a ball of dragon like energy at the incoming attacker, "dodge it now Charizard!" Ash yelled out his instruction, the fire type while still with glowing wings moved to the right and continued on his path after dodging the powerful Dragon Pulse, "hit it now Charizard," Ash ordered with great vigour.

Reshiram tried to fly up but the superior speed of Charizard soon caught up to the legendary pokemon, the fire lizard crashed into the large white pokemon sending to crashing back into the ground, the dragon got back to its feet and started to pant, 'these two are really good,' Reshiram stated while looking over to its fellow legendary pokemon.

'I agree, I watched the battle between my fellow sword of justice against Rosa and Hugh, these two are on another level,' Cobalion stated while reeling from the effects of burn, 'I am not sure if I can last too much longer, I have been inflicted with a nasty burn due to Arcanine's Flamethrower,' Cobalion admitted while wincing in pain.

"Arcanine, now is the chance, attack with Fire Fang," Dawn gave out her next command, Dawn watched in shock as the iron will pokemon charged towards the coordinators fire type, in that instant a powerful burst of flames crashed into the side of Cobalion sending it flying towards one of the trees.

The iron will pokemon crashed into the trees and slowly got to its feet, 'that was a dishonourable act,' Cobalion said in anger.

"Rules of a tag battle Cobalion, I can back my partner up when needed," Ash replied with a cheeky grin, at the same time Reshiram unleashed a powerful wave of psychic energy at the trainer's flying type pokemon, a powerful burst of energy crashed into the vast white pokemon as the orange and black pokemon landed next to Ash's Charizard, the vast white pokemon flew towards the trees on the other side of the road.

"Our specialty is tag battles, we have only ever lost one battle as a team," Dawn stated with a confident grin, she slowly got back to her feet and saw the two legendary pokemon looking at them in awe, she turned her attention to Ash and hopped up to his side, she stood on one leg while doing her best to keep balance, she watched the two legendary pokemon slowly move towards them, Dawn pulled out her pokeball and recalled her fire type pokemon, Ash followed Dawn's actions and got ready to call for his next pokemon, Dawn looked over to her small pokemon and nodded at it confidently, "Piplup, spotlight."

"Pikachu time to end this battle," Ash called over to his partner pokemon. The two smaller pokemon jumped out into the battlefield ready to face off against the two imposing pokemon.

'What two really small pokemon?' the two legendries question in unison, the two pokemon charged towards the much smaller pokemon, but they easily dodged the attack by jumping away from them, the two pokemon crashed into one another injuring themselves.

"You shouldn't have gotten overconfident," Ash stated while shrugging his shoulders, "Pikachu, attack with Thunderbolt," Ash gave out his command.

"Piplup, finish this with Hydro Pump," Dawn issued her instruction.

The two smaller pokemon powered up their attacks and unleashed them at the reeling legendary pokemon, as the attacks landed the two pokemon roared out in pain as the onslaught continued from the smaller pokemon. The attacks cleared up allowing the two pokemon to have some reprieve from the two mighty attacks, Reshiram lifted its head and looked over to Ash, 'impressive, your pokemon are extremely well trained,' Reshiram decreed while its head fell back to the ground.

'Yes, you two are indeed strong, we will be proud to be your partners,' Cobalion submitted with a smile while closing its eyes waiting for the pokeballs to hit them, 'you may capture us,' Cobalion instructed the two trainers.

Ash and Dawn prepared their pokeballs and threw them at the legendary pokemon, the two pokeballs tapped the two pokemon on the head, before bouncing off of them, they became surrounded in a red beam, the two pokemon looked at the two people and nodded at them, they soon became trapped in the pokeballs, the red and white devices started to wobble from side to side.

The couple watched as the pokeballs continued to move from side to side, waiting for the capture to become official, "come on," Dawn hoped repeatedly for the next twenty seconds which seem to have lasted a lot longer.

"Patience Dawn," Ash told his love calmly.

As the two waited for what seemed like forever the capturing devices stopped moving and finally signified the capture of the two pokemon, Ash walked up to the two pokeballs and picked them up, he looked at them with a smile and walked back to the bluenette, "here you go Dawn."

Dawn raised her hand and smiled at the trainer, Ash nodded and raised his hand, they high fived proudly, "even legendary pokemon can't beat us," Dawn declared while looking at her newly acquired legendry pokemon.

"Come on Dawn, we need to get you fixed up," Ash commented while picking Dawn up.

Dawn gasped in shock while holding onto her newly obtained pokemon, "what are you doing Ash?" Dawn enquired with amazement.

"I am not leaving you behind," Ash retorted with a smile as he began to walk towards the next town.

Near Lentimas Town a man with long green hair landed on the ground, he looked up to see his large black pokemon hovering overhead, "well old friend, it's time to stop my dad from achieving his goals," the man stated with a smile while pulling out his pokeball.

'N, I sense that Reshiram has been captured,' Zekrom told the man known as N about the situation, the deep black pokemon noticed the concerned expression on the face of the man, 'there is nothing to worry about, I sense that the person that captured Reshiram, isn't a threat,' Zekrom told its trainer with a knowing tone.

"I know, Hilbert wouldn't have allowed someone as impure as my dad to have the Light Stone," N acknowledged while recalling his legendary pokemon, "I am more concerned with my father and Team Plasma's actions," N declared as he stared at the pokeball containing his partner pokemon. The former Plasma leader looked up to the cave and wondered what to do next, 'it has been a few years since I was last here, I missed the Unova region,' N thought to himself while thinking back about his actions years ago, he looked back at the small town with guilt before seeing a woman approaching him, she crashed into him before she fell to the ground, "you're the Gym Leader of Mistralton City, you know you should be watching where you're going," N told the woman before extending his hand out to her.

"N, what are you doing here, the last time I saw you is after you flew away after your defeat at the hands of Hilbert and Hilda," Skyla pointed out in shock, she took his hand and got back to his feet.

"Yeah I was doing a bit of soul searching, when I heard that my dad was making his plans clear," N replied with a saddened expression.

"That's just it, I flew here on my plane just moments ago, I needed to catch up to Ash and Dawn, Nuvema Town was hit by a powerful attack, not only that it involved Ice," Skyla panicked while bypassing the former plasma member.

"Ice, so that means my dad has already caught the third dragon of this region," N stated while placing his hand on his chin, "Skyla, wait, we need to inform the rest of the gym leaders of the situation, can you contact those two and let them know that my dad is going to attack Oplucid City next?" N instructed the gym leader quickly.

"They already know N, they are heading there to stop them from getting the Gene Splicers, because Professor Juniper told them," Skyla replied with a frown.

"N, it's been a while, I was wondering how long it would take for you to arrive," Hilbert called over to his friend while walking side by side with Hilda.

"N, so glad to see you," Hilda remarked with a smile.

N looked away with shame knowing that what he had done in the past was wrong, "you two forgive me, after all I did to you," N stated while getting ready to walk away from the couple, "plus I am here to make amends for my mistakes in the past," N explained as the sandstorm started to pick up.

"Come on N, we need to chat about a few things, how about we go into the Pokemon Center to talk?" Hilbert enquired while walking to the medical facility. N followed his friend into the red roofed building followed by the girls.

"Hilda, I just want to tell you something," Skyla said while looking at the two guys talking in the medical facility.

"I know Skyla, you're in love with Hilbert," Hilda replied with a smile.

Skyla shook her head and smiled slightly, "no I have learnt that I have to let things go, this was thanks to Dawn, I want you two to take care of the gym while I travel the world, also…." Skyla explained before gulping and looking away towards the mountain, she closed her eyes and started to think about Dawn's words, "I just want you to know, that I will not be getting in your way with Hilbert, he is all yours," Skyla declared with a smile leaving Hilda in shock at what her friend just said.

"Are you sure about this?" Hilda question with uncertainty, still trying to take in what her friend just stated. 'What changed her mind? She and I were always rivals for Hilbert, it's like she has grown up,' Hilda wondered while watching her friend walking into the center, "thank you Skyla," Hilda whispered before following her friend towards the men.

Meanwhile Ash was carrying Dawn towards the next town seeing the destruction of the last battle between them and the Plasma Elite, Ash looked around with guilt, knowing that his defeat was because the Shadow Triad were after the legendary pokemon, "and I thought I was strong enough to face Team Plasma on my own," Ash stated with guilt.

"Well I think now you realize that you cannot do things on your own, you need your friends," Dawn explained with a proud smile, "plus you have me, so there is no need to worry, then there is the legendary pokemon that we befriended," Dawn said while placing her right hand on the trainer's face, Ash flinched for a moment causing Dawn to giggle at him, "what are you so scared of Ash?" Dawn questioned the young man.

"Nothing, I was just a little sacred that you might hurt me again," Ash replied with a chuckle.

Dawn burst out into laughter as the two pokemon in front of them watched the two laughing at one another, "no need to worry, I promised never to hurt you again, but if you need it I will bring you back to your senses," Dawn winked at Ash with a playful grin.

"That's great, how about I make you walk the rest of the way to Oplucid City with a sprained ankle?" Ash replied forcing Dawn to glare at him.

Dawn looked towards the icy houses and the wind damaged buildings, "well I am guessing it would be difficult for us to stop, so you will have to carry me all the way to Oplucid City," Dawn chimed with a cheeky grin.

"Like hell I will, I don't want my arms to drop off," Ash retorted with a stern tone.

"Okay you can have a break…. Tonight," Dawn told Ash happily as she rested her head on his chest.

"You do know that the sun won't be setting for another five hours?" Ash questioned the bluenette who started to fall asleep in his arms, "why do I even bother?" Ash muttered not realizing that Dawn could hear every word he was saying.

"Because you love me," Dawn whispered back in a cheeky nature.

After exiting the demolished town Ash walked towards the fields where the pokemon were running in every direction, the exhausted trainer walked at a slower pace before stopping entirely, "Dawn, I need a break," Ash complained while looking around to find a nice tree.

Dawn opened her eyes to see Ash placing her near a tree, "alright, we can rest here," Dawn submitted with joy, she watched the man sitting next to her and pulled out her pokeball containing the new pokemon, "you know Ash, I haven't told you the new pokemon I caught," Dawn teased the tired trainer who was about to fall asleep, "why do I even bother?" Dawn repeated Ash's question from a hours prior to arriving at the tree.

"You can say something after I get some sleep," Ash replied while finally falling asleep under the shade of the tree.

Dawn looked up to see the clouds passing while the two pokemon partners of the respective trainers sat in their laps, she thought about the day she started her journey and wondered where she was heading to next with Ash, the gentle breeze swayed the trees around while the pokemon in the fields continued to play around with their friends, 'I wonder, what life would have been like if I hadn't met Ash,' Dawn thought to herself as a sudden chill ran down her back, "the thought of it gives me the chills," Dawn whispered quietly as to not wake the trainer up from his sleep.

'You know, he does care a lot for you,' Cobalion told the coordinator as its voice echoed in her mind.

'I know, I want to get stronger so I can fight alongside Ash, when he needs me the most, today I felt weak when I was hurt by the Shadow Triad,' Dawn explained in reply to the legendary pokemon's words.

'Weak, I don't know if Ash thinks you're weak,' Cobalion retorted calmly. 'Plus didn't you succeed in saving Meloetta?' Cobalion questioned the blue haired coordinator.

'Yeah I know, but I felt guilty when he had to carry me all the way from the battlefield to here,' Dawn remarked with a saddened tone.

'Do you really think you burdened him?' Another voice echoed in the bluenette's mind.

'Reshiram? I don't know any more, throughout this journey, I have done nothing but pressure Ash, hurt him and get in his way,' Dawn replied with tears starting to roll down her face, she turned her attention to Ash who was still sleeping then looked at her engagement ring, thinking about her birthday present from him, 'yet he has put up with me while we journeyed here,' Dawn cried at the legendary pokemon.

'Didn't you say he loves you?' Cobalion asked the coordinator.

Dawn tried to dry up her tears and thought about the times she had waited for him to return from his exile, 'I have had so many goals in this region, yet I feel like none of them will ever come true,' Dawn told the two legendary pokemon while keeping her attention on the ring.

'Then you need to talk to Ash,' Reshiram told the woman before leaving her mind along with Cobalion.

Dawn hesitantly placed her hand on the trainer's shoulder and tried to wake him up, "Ash can I please have a word with you?" Dawn asked while doing everything to wake him up, "Ash wake now!" Dawn yelled forcing the trainer to wake up from his slumber.

"Dawn, I was have this great dream about our wedding day," Ash replied tiredly.

Dawn sweetly smiled at the future husbands, "enough joking around Ash, I want to ask you something," Dawn retorted with a more serious expression.

"Why so serious?" Ash asked, he let out a quick yawn and stretched out his arms, "what was so important that you needed to wake me up from my awesome dream?" Ash questioned the bluenette.

Dawn showed the engagement ring to Ash, "this is what I wanted to talk about, throughout this journey I have gotten in your way, hurt you and pressured you into something you said there was no rushing," Dawn confessed with a depressed manner, she moved her left and placed it on her lap , she looked up to the sky to see the clouds moving across the blue sky, the golden disc moving closer towards the horizon, she let out a heavy sigh and thought about what she was talking about with Reshiram and Cobalion, "we don't have to rush this Ash," Dawn declared.

"What are you talking about, remember I had three days to decide in Undella Town while recovering from my injury," Ash commented with confidence. "I Thought about it so many times in that three days that I came to one conclusion," Ash remarked with a pride.

Dawn suddenly turned her attention to Ash and stared into his brown eyes, "what conclusion?" Dawn asked curiously.

"I that there was no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with than you," Ash answered with boundless pride. Ash and Dawn started to watch the sun setting, the colors of the sky changing from a bright blue to a fiery red, the golden disc moving closer to the horizon, "as you always say, no need to worry," Ash copied Dawn's phrase before the two started laughing again, 'that's much better,' Ash thought before hearing Dawn crying out in pain.

"Don't make me laugh so hard," Dawn told Ash who was grasping his side which was still bandaged up from his injuries, "but then again you shouldn't be laughing too," Dawn commented while noticing the trainer wincing in pain.

"Oh come, it was worse, I had to carry you all day," Ash said while laughing at himself as he remembered the pain he was suffering from earlier in the day.

"You're an idiot Ash, you should have said something," Dawn berated the trainer while grasping her ankle again, "but then again, I think we are both really reckless," Dawn professed while trying to hold back her laughter, but never succeed in doing so, she started to laugh, she looked up to see the first stars light up the night sky and the gentle breeze ending as the last remnants of day disappeared, "so are we going to visit the Kalos region?" Dawn asked with great hope.

Ash looked up and thought about the two pokemon that they had battled while trying to save Heatran, "yes, but only after your eighteenth," Ash replied with a cheeky grin.

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**I hope you all liked this chapter, the next chapter for Blaze and Glory is on its way so watch out for that one in the next week or two, then I will get a move on with the third saga of Trainer and the princess.**

**Is Ash dumb enough to carry Dawn all the way to Oplucid City with his injury? Or will Dawn find a way to walk there?**

**Next time chapter 23: Trials of the Dragons**

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_**A.N. **__Oh and to let you all know, I will be busy in the next month or so, so the amount of releases will be likely to drop, due to a serious amount of business coming up, still I hope you are enjoying my stories, please go to my profile and have a look at my other material, some of them are really good._

_I also hope that once I find out more about the Kalos region, I can start to utilise the region with a few characters that will be paired with Ash. The first two are Dawn and Salvia._

_So here are the five other options that I want a vote on, you can vote for only two females and they are. they will be traveling with Ash in separate stories_

_Shauna, May, Serena, Hilda and Rosa_


	23. Trial of the Dragons

**Chapter 23: Trials of the Dragons.**

_Hope you all enjoy this chapter, with two more badges to go, I think it's time get going, it will also be quite a long one too._

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Ash continued to carry Dawn through the route, heading towards a small town that was built on a powerful bridge, not bothering to call out his powerful dragon Ash continued to walk towards his next destination, Dawn had her hands on her stomach and closed her eyes, "well don't I feel like a princess now," Dawn remarked with a cheeky sarcastic tone. Ash scoffed at the idea of Dawn being a princess remembering the time Dawn dressed up as a princess, "what's the matter Ash? You don't think I am a princess?" Dawn enquired softly as she also remembered the time she dressed up as a royal.

"No I don't think you are a princess," Ash replied with a bold grin.

Dawn started to giggle at Ash's comment before opening her eyes, "well if I remember correctly, when you saw me dress up as Princess Salvia, your face was completely red," Dawn teased the trainer in a joking manner.

"No I wasn't, I um….ah," Ash tried to make a comeback but he knew that there was no way he could compete with Dawn's logic, "I just didn't expect you to dress up as a princess," Ash said while making his excuse for that day.

"Oh sure, right Ash, so every time I got in a beautiful dress for my contests, your face also told the tale, then there was my cheerleader outfit, I can tell you like seeing me in those outfits, and don't try to hide it from me," Dawn continued to tease while she noticed Ash's face starting to turn red, she started to smile in a playful manner before she started to laughing at his expense.

"Oh geez you in good mood today," Ash replied while Dawn continued to laugh. Ash knew that there was no comeback to Dawn who was teasing him, he knew everything Dawn was saying was true, he was just too proud to admit it, plus with all the people walking around he didn't want Dawn to have the satisfaction of winning the argument in public, "um, Dawn, why are you saying this?" Ash questioned smoothly as he finally made the journey over the bridge.

"I was thinking, what kind of dress I would have at our wedding, maybe I can give Princess Salvia a call, look like a princess again for a day, I know you would love that," Dawn remarked with a mischievous expression.

"Come on Dawn, you would look like a princess in any outfit you put on," Ash replied before being hit across the back by Dawn.

"Ha, you just admitted it, you love the way I dress up," Dawn remarked much to Ash's embarrassment, "I guess there is no need for me to hide the truth any longer," Dawn professed to a hidden secret.

"What truth? We have never hidden anything from each other," Ash enquired while Dawn moved closer to Ash's right ear.

" I dressed up to impress you," Dawn whispered in a cheeky manner, the admission caused Ash to stop walking as his face turned completely crimson at what Dawn had just told him. Dawn started to fall back into position knowing that she had easily won the argument, "come on my Ashy, I know full well you lost this one," Dawn teased with a sassy smirk. Looking up to Ash who closed his eyes in submission to Dawn's victory, she giggled at her win against Ash, "I might not be as good a trainer as you, but I can beat you in other things," Dawn chimed blissfully while Ash recommenced his walk towards Oplucid City.

"Oh man, I guess there are some things I can't win," Ash complained while starting to get tired from carrying Dawn for some distance, "maybe I should have one of my pokemon carrying you to Oplucid," the trainer smugly remarked to Dawn.

"If you do that, I will hurt you, I am enjoying the royal treatment," Dawn said while resting her head on her fiancées right shoulder, grinning mischievously as the trainer continued to walk slowly but surely towards the larger city.

Ash sighed heavily feeling like that there was no way to get out of this, he smiled softly at Dawn who was falling asleep in his grasp, "well, there is nothing I can do right?" Ash questioned the bluenette, she nodded while the wind whipped her hair around as it hung over Ash's arms, "oh well, I guess, I really can't win them all," Ash repeated again, he walked through the tree lined route, seeing the fruit and flowers in the trees and bushes, "hey Dawn have a look," Ash instructed the coordinator tenderly as he looked around him with awe at the scenery, "beautiful isn't it?" Ash asked his future wife joyfully as pokemon started to fly over their heads and from tree to tree.

Dawn opened her eyes to see the sight, the scent of the flowers and the sheer volume of fruit in the trees, "amazing," Dawn said while the trees swayed in the gentle breeze. Dawn heard a rumbling coming from Ash, she quickly turned her attention to Ash who was trying to hide it, "you're hungry, I know it," Dawn teased her love again.

"I am not that hungry," Ash retorted boastfully as his stomach started to rumble again.

Dawn placed her left hand over Ash's mouth and stopped him from saying another word, "I know well enough Ash, you're hungry and you cannot hide it from me," Dawn affectionately told Ash as she looked towards a nice tree, "over their I can forgo the royal treatment for now, we can have something to eat, plus you need a break from carrying me to Oplucid City," Dawn told Ash, while pointing towards a nice tree with a decent amount of shading, "well what are you waiting for, take your princess to that tree over there, so we can have something to eat," Dawn demanded with a sly grin.

Pikachu and Piplup watched the moment from a short distance away and started to laugh at Ash who had to deal with Dawn's constant teasing. Ash walked away from the bluenette to gather some food for their lunch, Ash was left scratching his head at the mood Dawn was in, chuckling at some of the things she was saying, "man, she was really having a great time."

While Ash was away the coordinator was trying to stand up but fell to the ground again wincing in pain from her ankle which was still swollen from the day before, "wow, my ankle is in really bad shape," Ash reminded herself while Piplup and Pikachu ran up to her with distress as the teen moved slowly back towards the tree, "nothing to worry about, I was just seeing if I can walk on my own," Dawn told the two pokemon with a smile while sitting back to look at the scenery that surrounded her.

The two starting pokemon for the respective trainers sat next to Dawn, viewing the scenery that was before then, the leaves a constant green with the flowers and fruit filling the trees, the gentle breeze causing the trees to sway gently making for a relaxing moment, "beautiful," Dawn remarked as she started to fall asleep.

Ash walked up with a hand full of apples and other assorted fruits and berries, "hey Dawn, I have some food," Ash called over to Dawn. He turned his focus to Dawn to see her sleeping quietly with the two pokemon sleeping next to her, "oh great, I get her something to eat and I find her sleeping," he complained while moving towards her, he cringed in pain as he felt the injury to his ribs flare up again, "I guess were both walking wounded," Ash reminded himself with a slight chuckle, he moved Pikachu away from Dawn and sat down next to Dawn, he looked up to see the trees swaying in the wind with some of the flowers falling from the trees, one of the flowers landed in Dawn's hands, the trainer smiled and picked it up, he placed the flower in the bluenette's hair and proudly smiled at Dawn before falling asleep next to her.

After a few hours of sleeping Dawn woke up and stretched her arms out, she turned around to see Ash was next to her sleeping, a mischievous grin graced Dawn's face with the idea of pranking the trainer, she looked around again to find a feather from a flying type pokemon resting next to her, she started to giggle but not audible enough for Ash to here, 'this will be so much fun,' Dawn thought while trying to contain herself, she picked up the item and moved it closer to Ash, she moved the feather under his nose causing him to show signs of waking up, "oh Ash, wake up," Dawn chimed as she moved the feather again.

"Not now mom, just a few more minutes," Ash replied while Dawn continued to use the feather against.

Dawn's cheeky smile only grew broader as she continued to prank Ash, "come on Ash, wake up, there is a rare pokemon right in front of us," Dawn told Ash while trying to wake him.

"Rare pokemon? Where?" Ash woke up in a snap, he looked around only to hear Dawn laughing at him and to discover that there was no rare pokemon in sight, "geez Dawn, why would you do that?" Ash questioned the coordinator who was now in tears while she continued to laugh at his expense.

Ash got up and picked up the coordinator, "Whao, Ash I am not ready to go yet," Dawn complained while the two pokemon woke up and ran ahead of Ash who started to carry Dawn the rest of the way towards the city.

"What so you can pull another prank on me, like I would let that happen," Ash replied quietly.

"Not now mom, just a few more minutes," Dawn imitated Ash with a sassy smirk.

Ash ignored the imitation and continued to walk towards the city, ignoring his injured ribs, it had been a long time since he started walking never even thinking of using his pokemon to help him or Dawn, Ash looked up to see the gates of the city that he was meant to reach, he breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he can finally stop carrying Dawn, "well, I guess the hospital is where we need to go," Ash commented with a grin.

"Take your time Ash," Dawn instructed the young man with a gentle expression.

Ash looked down at the blue haired coordinator and shook his head, "what so you can have me keep this up?" Ash asked while taking his first steps into the major city.

"Yep, I want you to keep doing this, it would be great practice for later on," Dawn replied defiantly while Ash took his time to walk through the city, Dawn looked up to see Ash tired from walking all the way to Oplucid from Lacunosa Town Outskirts, she knew that Ash was too proud to be asking for help when he needed it, but she started to admire him more for his actions, "you know Ash, joking and teasing aside, the last day or so, I have really began to admire you more," Dawn remarked happily as she closed her eyes to think about their next journey, "our journey through the Unova region is almost over, all you need is two badges and to compete in the Unova League," Dawn stated while exhaling softly, a gentle grin gracing her lips and her hands moved over Ash's left shoulder.

"Yeah, we're almost done here in Unova, it went faster than expected, we had some crazy moment's and met some amazing people, as well as some I would rather forget, but in all I have enjoyed it, because you were here with me all this time," Ash summarized his journey so far with Dawn, "but I kind of feel bad, that I wasn't able to help realize your goal of introducing Pokemon Contests for the Unova region," Ash remarked with slight regret in his tone and expression.

Dawn smiled for a moment and looked up joyfully, "it doesn't matter Ash, I wanted to enjoy this journey, and I have, I might have had a moment of madness, but I really enjoyed it, because I travelled with the one I love more than anyone," Dawn replied softly with the trainer moving closer to the hospital, "plus there is plenty of time, no need to rush it," Dawn stated while looking up to see the small white clouds moving across the bright blue sky, with the hopes that she would always remain happy, thinking about where the road would lead the couple.

"We're here," Ash stated while looking up to see a large building, Ash walked into the building with Dawn in his arms the two pokemon walking behind him, they noticed that the waiting room was empty which meant that the waiting time was going to be none existent , "well we will find out very soon about your ankle," Ash commented optimistically as he walked towards the front counter which had a receptionist working on one of the computers, "excuse me, can we see a doctor?" Ash asked the woman quietly.

"Sure I will call him now," the woman replied quickly.

The doctor walked in the waiting room, Ash walked up to the man dressed completely in white with Dawn in his arms, "follow me and we shall see what's going on," the doctor said calmly, he opened the door to allow Ash in to the doctor's room, he watched Ash placing Dawn on the bed knowing immediately that it was the bluenette that he need to attend to, "so how bad is it?" the doctor asked while grabbing a piece of paper.

"I am not able to walk, every time I try to it becomes really painful," Dawn replied with sadness.

"Maybe an X-ray will show us the real problem," the doctor remarked while watching Ash pick the teen up again.

"One of these days Dawn, you will have to do something for me," Ash decreed with sarcasm, he followed the doctor towards the scanning room.

"Really Ash? Really?" Dawn asked with a playful smile.

Minutes after making it to the scanning room the doctor looked at the scans to see what the problem was, "well I do have some bad news, I am afraid Dawn has a fracture which will prevent her from walking for a while," the doctor noted while Ash looked at Dawn with great concern, he gulped knowing that he would have to continue to look after Dawn, "I will need to put a cast on to make sure her ankle fully recovers," the doctor declared quietly as he noticed Ash grasping his ribs, "she isn't the only one with a problem I see," the doctor stated with a smile.

"No, I am fine, just a minor injury," Ash replied bravely while trying not to wince in pain.

"Yeah sure Ash, putting on a brave front, you carried me all the way from Lacunosa Town, even with a few cracked ribs," Dawn said with concern knowing that Ash needed help in his recovery.

"Yeah but we already taped me up," Ash responded quietly while moving his hand away from his chest region, "I will wait for you to finish up," Ash told the teen with a smoothly as he got out of his seat and walked out of the room.

Ash spotted the two pokemon knowing that Dawn was going to take some time to finish with the procedure, it was quiet all day until he noticed a largely built man with a large yellow and black pokemon walking next to him, "he also has a Haxorus," Ash pointed out while a female with brown pigtails walked up to him, Ash sat down not noticing her.

"How rude Ash, I had just arrived in the city to challenge the next gym, I yelled hello like a million times," a familiar voice complained with an angered tone.

Ash looked up and smiled, "well hello Rosa, how have things been for you?" Ash asked the brunette with a cheeky smile.

"It's great now that I have seen you," she replied while taking a seat next to Ash.

"Um, Rosa, I have already asked Dawn to marry me," Ash told the younger trainer.

Rosa got to her feet and smile at the trainer, "I kind of knew that you would, plus I was kidding around a moment ago, I already have Hugh," Rosa explained with a giggle. "I have a question, why are you in the hospital? Wait don't tell me Dawn is…" Rosa stated with great excitement as she clasped her hands together thinking of the possibility.

"Rosa, Dawn has a fractured ankle, I carried her all the way from Lacunosa Town," Ash replied trying to settle his friend down, "and no I am not that reckless," Ash finished with a sigh of relief.

"Oh man, I was excited over nothing," Rosa clicked her fingers on her right hand.

"Dawn is only seventeen," Ash stated with anger. He shook his head in disbelief from the conversation he was having with the younger trainer, "So where is Hugh anyway?" Ash asked the teen with the hopes of seeing his friend.

Rosa placed her hand on her chin and started to think about Hugh, "hmmmm, I haven't seen him in about a week, the last I saw of him, he was in Icirrus City winning his seventh badge," Rosa replied with certainty.

The door opened with Dawn appearing on crutches and her left foot in a cast, "sorry that took so long, come on Ash time to win your seventh badge," Dawn told Ash while moving slowly towards him, she looked around to see Rosa standing in front of him, "hello Rosa, it's been a while," Dawn greeted the brunette warmly.

"So Dawn, can I be your bridesmaid?" Rosa asked suddenly causing Dawn to become angry at Ash.

"You idiot, you know how many of my friends want to be my bridesmaid?" Dawn asked Ash while trying to chase after the trainer, "get back here, so I can hit you with my crutches!" Dawn barked out in anger while Rosa laughed at the duo.

"Sorry Dawn, threating to hit me won't bring me any closer," Ash responded with a playful laugh, Ash turned around and smirked at the bluenette, "remember what you said, you would never hurt me again," Ash teased while Dawn stopped what she was doing and smiled at the trainer, Ash walked up to the teen and messed up her hair, "it feels good to get my payback," Ash commented boldly before turning around bravely knowing that Dawn wouldn't hurt him in anyway.

"Wow, Dawn is angry but she isn't even hurting Ash after two moments," Rosa commented with shock, she watched as the couple slowly left the hospital and towards the next gym challenge, she knew that something between the two made them closer, she wanted to figure out what it was, so she decided to follow them to the gym, "hey wait up you two I want to ask you something," Rosa called out to the couple as she ran up to them, "what happened? You two are much closer than the last time I was saw you," the brunette enquired in a puzzled manner.

"Nothing you should be worried about Rosa," Ash and Dawn replied with embarrassment, the two scratched their heads at the same time and in the same manner, the couple then continued towards the gym for Ash's next challenge and looked back towards the younger teen with a cheeky grin.

"So when did you and Hugh start going out?" Dawn asked proudly, the younger teen started blushing at the question unable to hide any embarrassment.

"Stop it Dawn, I am not going out with Hugh, I still can't stand him," Rosa lied while she followed her friends.

Ash chuckled knowing that Rosa was lying to them, "I am pretty certain that you're lying Rosa, your face is completely red," Ash remarked while he looked towards Dawn who was smiling at her friend, "and plus in the hospital you said you were with Hugh," Ash remarked while the brunette waved her hands in front of her face not only to hide the truth from her friends.

"Look the gym," Rosa pointed towards the gym and to change the subject. She breathed a sigh of relief as Ash and Dawn looked up to the building, they saw Iris inside battling with the Gym Leader with her own dragon type pokemon, witnessing a tough battle between the powerfully built man and the young trainer, "wow, Iris the champion of this region is really powerful," Rosa complimented the champion with a smile of admiration.

"So then I will battle her instead," Ash commented much to Rosa's surprise, she watched as Ash walked in to see that the older man was defeated with ease by the much younger trainer, "wow she is a strong trainer," Ash commented before being spotted by the girl with long purple hair.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in reply.

"I am here to challenge the gym, but I don't want to battle the gym leader, instead I want to battle you," Ash challenged Iris without hesitation, she stood in shock at the challenge, "what do you say? I want to battle the best and the gym leaders so far haven't been much of a challenge," Ash remarked with no signs of arrogance.

"But in order to get a gym badge you need to battle a gym leader," Iris retorted while shrugging her shoulders.

"No, the young man seeks a challenge, so if you win," the man directed his attention to Ash while standing next to Iris, "this I will give you the Legend Badge," he decreed much to the shock of Iris and to the delight of Ash.

"But Grandpa Drayden, I am the strongest Unova has to offer," Iris protested while Ash waited at the challengers podium to battle Iris.

"Come on Iris, I will be the best challenger you will ever face," Ash promised the young champion with a confident grin as he picked one of his pokeballs ready to face the girl in battle, "Lucario, I choose you," Ash called out his aura pokemon ready to battle, he awaited the champion's reply.

"You seem certain, fine, Dragonite, it's time battle," Iris called out a powerful dragon type pokemon with small wings comparable to the size of its body, mostly yellow in color and with determined eyes, "you better be worth my time Ash," Iris demanded with her arms crossed.

Dawn and Rosa made it in to see Ash's Lucario facing off against the dragon master's Dragonite, "what they have already started?" Rosa asked while standing next to the bluenette.

"Come on Ash, show her what you're made of!" Dawn cheered loudly.

"Lucario, start things off with Dragon Pulse," Ash instructed his pokemon with confidence.

"Dragonite, attack with Dragon Pulse too," Iris gave out her command. The two powerful pokemon charged up their attacks and fired them towards their respective opponents, the attacks colloded causing a powerful explosion which sent the two pokemon flying towards their trainers, iris covered her eyes while the dust flew towards her, "no way, we're equal," Iris said while shielding her eyes , the dust finally settled, she refocused back onto the battle to see the two pokemon standing as if nothing had happened, "this could be interesting," Iris decreed while her dragon let out a powerful roar.

"Alright, now we're talking, Lucario attack with Shadow Claw," Ash ordered with certainty. The Aura pokemon charged towards the dragon type with a purple set of claws extending outwards.

"Thunder Punch," Iris ordered her pokemon calmly.

The two powerful pokemon charged at one another not flinching as their attacks collided yet again, this time a more powerful shockwave flew out from the attacks; Ash, Dawn, Rosa, Drayden and Iris were pushed back by the force of the attacks colliding. After the powerful shockwave ended the spectators and the trainers involved in the battle got back to their feet while Drayden looked on in shock to see the two powerful pokemon standing not even breaking a sweat in this battle, "amazing, these two are impressive, they are even," Drayden reminded himself while the two pokemon charged up for another Dragon Pulse.

"Lucario, hold the attack and jump," Ash instructed his pokemon quickly. the aura pokemon leapt into the air holding his Dragon Pulse, waiting for the perfect chance to strike against the mighty dragon type pokemon, the pulse of dragon like energy was thrown at Dragonite landing dealing a super effective hit on the powerful foe.

"Not bad Ash, I was set for a disappointing battle, but this one might be better than expected," Iris noted while her powerful dragon type got to his feet, the mighty dragon roare as he got ready to face the powerful fighting type pokemon, "counter with Flamethrower," Iris ordered her powerful pokemon with supreme poise.

"Dodge the attack, then use Dark Pulse," Ash commanded his Lucario calmly.

The fighting type ran to the left and formed a dark ball in his paws, the pokemon leapt into the air again dodging the flames which turned towards him due to Iris' instruction, the dark wave of energy was released slamming into the powerful dragon type pokemon, "Dragonite no," Iris called to her dragon type pokemon, the colossal pokemon got to his feet and glared at the fighting type pokemon, panting lightly with everyone as a witness to the great battle that was taking place, "I have to admit your Lucario is really powerful, it isn't often that my Dragonite is pushed to the limit," Iris confessed while she looked over to Lucario who was also panting as well.

Ash smirked while he thought about his next move, 'man, Iris is really good, didn't expect her to be as strong as she is, this is the first time Lucario has been challenged,' Ash thought while his grin got broader and brighter, "so far I am enjoying this battle, Lucario attack with Dragon Pulse," Ash instructed his aura pokemon.

"Dragonite, you too," Iris countered as her pokemon charged up another attack to face off against Ash's pokemon, the two attacks collided with immense power knocking the two pokemon to the ground, the two combatants did everything to get to their feet to continue the battle, but they soon fell again much to everyone's surprise, "no way, no trainer has ever knocked out my Dragonite," Iris gasped in amazement as Drayden called the first round of the battle a draw.

Ash smirked knowing that it was the first time in the region that his fighting type was knocked out of the battle, "well don Iris," Ash complimented the dragon master proudly, he recalled his fallen pokemon and picked another of his pokeballs.

Dawn and Rosa continued to watch in awe knowing that Ash was never going to back down against Iris, the two watched as Iris called out a large blue pokemon with red wings with Ash replying with his Charizard, the two pokemon roard at each other but they didn't back down, "this one will be as intense as the previous," Dawn whispered while the gym leader signified for the battle to begin.

"I will go first, Salamence attack with Dragon Claw," Iris instructed her great dragon type pokemon.

"Okay Charizard, attack with Slash," the trainer countered quickly, the two flying type's rushed to one another with their claws extended out, the attacks collided but the two pokemon didn't budge an inch, the eventually pushed each other back surprising the two trainers, "amazing, even Salamence is even with my Charizard," Ash whispered in shock.

"No way, his Charizard is as strong as my Salamence," Iris proclaimed while the two pokemon stared at one another. "Salamence, attack with Dragon Breath," Iris barked out her command.

"Charizard, attack with Flamethrower!" Ash yelled out his command. The fire type pokemon unleashed a torrent of flames, while the powerful dragon unleashed a green blast of flames to counter the fire type move, the attacks crashed in the middle of the battlefield causing smoke and dust to rise up.

Ash and Iris couldn't believe what was going on, this was their greatest challenge as their pokemon waited for the smoke and dust to settle, they smiled knowing that this battle was going to be interesting, "amazing, Ash's Charizard is really powerful," Iris told herself while her dragon was getting ready to attack yet again.

Drayden started to stroke his beard unable to take in what he was seeing from the two combatants, "this is amazing, no trainer has pushed Iris this far in four years, not since Hilbert and Hilda," Drayden stated while reminding himself about the great battle that almost destroyed the gym, "luckily I had a surprise for the Iris in case this day did arrive," Drayden told himself as he turned around and nodded at the staff of the gym, "alright open the roof," Drayden instructed the staff members of the Oplucid gym.

Much to the shock of everyone in the building the roof started to open up allowing the sun to enter the building, "alright, now there is no holding back," Ash and Iris decreed in unison, they quickly instructed their pokemon to take to the skies , leaving Dawn and Rosa guessing at what was going to happen next.

"Salamence, attack with Dragon Claw again!" Iris hollered loudly.

"Charizard, attack with Dragon Tail," Ash commanded with confidence.

The two pokemon flew towards one another not backing down again, the tail of Charizard began to glow a pure white while, the dragon started to slash down on the fire type as he spun around to meet the attack with his tail, the attacks collided forcing the two pokemon back, they sneered at one another again, knowing that they weren't going anywhere in this round, "even in the skies they are even, a champion against a really strong trainer," Drayden remarked knowing that he was witnessing a battle that he himself couldn't produce in his lifetime.

"I think this is going to take a while," Ash remarked while the two girls supporting him watched the battle speechlessly, unable to cheer in this even battle, "Charizard, attack with Flamethrower."

"Salamence attack with Flamethrower as well," Iris gave out her order to her pokemon, the two pokemon sent out a powerful burst of flames towards one another, contacting in the air causing a big ball of flames to swirl around, the two pokemon didn't stop until the flames erupted in a mighty explosion injuring the two pokemon, "Salamence!" Iris screamed out in shock as her pokemon fell from the sky followed by Ash's flame pokemon.

"Charizard come on fly buddy," Ash pleaded with his fire type pokemon, the fire type opened his eyes and tried to flap his wings to reduce the impact that was going to be made, Charizard and Salamence crashed to the ground, the two trainers watched as Charizard slowly got up, panting heavily from the intense battle against the dragon master's Salamence, "oh man that was close," Ash gulped but soon heard a roar after the dust had settled, "what no way, well that's to be expected she is the champion after all," Ash acknowledged with a submissive smile, but he also noticed that Salamence was equally as tired as his Charizard, "well I guess the next move will decide this round, better make it count," Ash told the champion of Unova.

The two trainers waited knowing that the next mistake would cost them the round and potentially the battle, the people watching the battle knew that one more move could be made, but also knew that the experience of the two trainers was going to play a part in deciding this round.

"Dragon Breath now!" the two trainers issued their command at the same time, the two pokemon sent a burst of green flames at one another, they were too tired to even dodge the incoming attack, so it fell to whoever could withstand the attack, they two attacks bypassed the other then slammed into the opposing pokemon, the two pokemon fell to the ground unable to get up from the force of the two attack, "what no way again with a tie," the gym leader and the challenger remarked in shock.

"They are even in all aspects, Iris has trained for the last six years and now she is facing someone who is equal to her," Drayden remarked in amazement, proudly watching the two teens recalling their fallen pokemon from the battle.

"I have to admit Iris, you're the best trainer I have faced in this entire journey," Ash proudly admitted as he picked his next pokeball, he watched Iris calling out a yellow and black pokemon with an axe formation for its tusks, "so you have a Haxorus too, but I will not be battling with mine , I have another dragon in mind," Ash commented while Iris tilted her head in a puzzled manner.

"Bring it on," Iris replied with a playful smile.

'Ash must be talking about Reshiram,' Dawn assumed while watching Ash call out his blue pokemon with a long fin on his back, "Garchomp should have known," Dawn reminded herself with a smirk

"Yeah, come on win this battle!" Rosa cheered her friend on while pumping her fist in the air.

"I guess this will be the deciding round," Ash acknowledged with a confident smile. The two dragons got ready to start the battle against one another, they started to growl as their respective trainers nodded acknowledging that the battle had just began, "Garchomp, start things off with Dragon Claw," Ash commanded his powerful dragon type pokemon.

"Show them your Dragon Claw as well," the purple haired dragon master called for her attack.

The two dragons charged towards one another not showing signs of fear, their claws glowing from each paw, before slashing down on each other two attacks interlocked before they used their other free claw to make the next attack, "quick Garchomp attack with Crunch," Ash ordered his pokemon while gritting his teeth.

"Brick Break," Iris ordered her pokemon.

The axe tusk pokemon slashed down with the tusk formation while Garhchomp grabbed it with his teeth, the opponents fell back in the even battle, not gaining or losing an inch, Dawn unable to believe the battle she was witnessing started to smile, she held onto her crutches tightly not wanting to show that she was shaking with anticipation, "that's Ash, you can win this battle!" the bluenette cheered proudly and loudly as the two dragons waited for their next commands.

"Shadow Claw," Iris barked out her next command.

"Garchomp attack with Brick Break!" Ash yelled out his counter, the two pokemon rushed to the center of the battlefield swinging their respective attacks at one another, the fin of Garchomp smashed into Haxorus while Shadow Claw slashed down on the on the opposing dragon, the two dragons fell back as the two trainers quickly called for a Dragon Claw attack, the two pokemon ran towards one another hitting their respective attacks, the landed on opposite ends of the battlefield while the two pokemon fell to the ground, "what this battle is going to end in a tie," Ash stated in shock but soon discovered his pokemon getting back to his feet while the Axe Jaw pokemon remained on the ground, Ash stared in shock knowing that the tough battle was over, but soon spotted his opponents pokemon stirring, "no way, I can't believe it," Ash remarked but was soon relieved to find that Haxorus fell back to the ground to give him the battle.

"Unbelievable, I lost, that hasn't happened in three years," Iris proclaimed while recalling her pokemon from the battle, Ash followed the champions actions and walked to the center of the battlefield, "that was an amazing battle Ash," Iris told Ash proudly as Drayden walked up to the duo, Ash and Iris shook hands while Dawn and Rosa walked to Ash's side, "next time you won't be so lucky," Iris remarked while Ash nodded but pulled out his next pokeball, "wait you have another powerful pokemon?" Iris asked while watching Ash throw his pokeball some distance away.

"Yes I do Iris," Ash retorted proudly.

Iris looked in shock as she saw a large white dragon pokemon appearing in front of her, "you didn't use Reshiram against me, I would have easily lost the battle if you used Reshiram against me," Iris remarked but knew that Ash was never going to resort to such things.

"Ash that was an amazing battle, you have earned the Legend Badge," Drayden approved of Ash's victory by giving him the badge, "I doubt I would have been half the challenge Iris was, so I am proud that I was able to witness such an amazing battle," Drayden told the two who nodded accordingly.

Ash recalled his legendary pokemon and looked over to the bluenette, "thanks Dawn and Rosa, especially my pokemon, that was the best battle I had so far, so Rosa, you better tell Hugh that he must raise the bar, otherwise I will not be holding back at the Unova League," Ash instructed the brunette.

"I will tell him, and thanks for showing me an awesome battle Ash," Rosa replied while walking out of the gym amazed at the trainer's battle, 'man I am light years away from Ash, I will never catch up at this rate,' Rosa thought to herself while looking back to see Ash and Dawn laughing and enjoying the raven haired trainer's victory.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter a little long with my own form of romantic humour at the start, but a really good battle against the current Unova Champion was what the doctor ordered in this story.**

**Next time chapter 24: Towards the Final Gym**


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